I have been playing World of Warcraft since 2008 and have been excited about the film for some time.
Created by Blizzard Entertainment, the MMO World of Warcraft (WoW) is played by millions of people worldwide and has an incredible amount of lore and history surrounding the many characters and lands; enough to create a large amount of films without ever getting stale or boring – I was excited!
Then first trailer was released and it was dull and disappointing. Orcs and humans battling – nothing else. Where was the magic? Where was the excitement? We already know it’s called Warcraft, but the game and the lore are so much more than mere fighting. Even the later trailers didn’t show much more than huge battles and bloodshed.
A few days before the release, the critic’s reviews started pouring in.
I tend not to read reviews before I see a film, but the measly 24% given by Rotten Tomatoes pasted all over the internet was hard to miss. Add that to the predictions that this film would likely bomb in its opening week suggesting a profit of only $25m in the US and $30m overseas – compare that to the film’s $160m budget and my hopes for a fantastic onscreen adaptation were all but dashed.
Tonight I went to see the film. Preparing myself for disappointment, my fiancé and I went out for a nice pre-cinema meal, giving me a smile before the predicted frown. As it is Warcraft’s opening week I booked online the night before to ensure good seats. As we entered the largest screen for the 3D, prime-time showing I noticed we were sharing the room with only 5-10% occupancy. Perhaps the predictions had been correct. I saw James Bond, Jurassic World and Star Wars in the same room and each time every seat was taken.
The film began and as the Universal logo glided across, I became increasingly nervous. Eight years of my life had been poured into this franchise – of course I wanted it to be good, thankfully the opening sequence halted all my doubts. I was literally on the edge of my seat as if moving those extra, few inches would bring me closer to the action. The prologue plot grabbed me instantly and whisked me into the world I have spent so many years traversing.
There is magic in abundance and the special effects are outstanding. (As my main character is a mage – this is a big deal for me.) After seeing the dull trailer I was worried the magical element would become redundant, but instead it was centre stage. Stormwind, Dalaran, Karazhan, IronForge – hell, even Noobshire (Goldshire) were all gloriously depicted. The characters are identical to those in-game with incredible attention to detail and bringing the world of Warcraft truly alive right in front of your eyes.
From start to finish, I was hooked. This is a brilliant film, an excellent beginning to a saga I (and millions of others) know all too well. So why are the reviews so damning?
This film has been made for the players, the fans and anyone who has stepped foot into Azeroth over the past decade. You are thrown into a story without any real information and whisked away on a fast-paced journey through foreign lands with many different characters and races. If you know nothing about the game or its lore, I imagine this could be somewhat difficult to follow and to understand.
Who are these people? What is this place? Why should we even care? You have to very carefully listen to the opening dialogue to follow the beginning of the story and it’s not until half way through you can start connecting the information and characters. This I can see as a problem for none WoW fans and I guess is this reason so many people are dismissing it.
For me, this is one of the best films of the year and far better than anything Marvel and DC has offered us. (Seriously – how can Batman V Superman get a better score than this?) Warcraft is a real gem that does the franchise justice and brings to life so many beloved elements of a world that until now has only lived on our computer screens. I just fear that the negative reviews and low box-office turn out could spell disaster for the film series. Having had a taste, I now want to see the whole story unfold on the big screen and can only hope that people – like me – go and see the film to judge for themselves.