Score : 6/10
Year : 2016
Country: USA
Language: English (+ invented)
Duration: 2h03
I never played Warcraft so I
cannot attest to the adaptation quality from the game to the movie. All I can
critic is this first feature film, full of epic battles which at moments will
remind you of Lord of the Rings...
Indeed, the influence of Tolkien is
felt, seen and heard, even to the name of a character. But, don't let that stop
you, because this is actually the better side of this movie.
The other feels like it could
have and should have been darker in nature, whereas here the general sensation
is that it smells a bit cheesy, and could be the offspring of Harry Potter
& Middle Earth.
It has magic, it has creatures, it has the massive influence JRR has brought to the world... but never reaching the heights of the Lord of the Rings (and probably doesn't even want to because that'd be damn difficult to reach).
The presence of the Weta
workshops is also quite felt, and you'd be right in thinking about that
throughout the film : they are indeed credited.
The special effects were very
good, but I have to say that I never forgot that they were effects and I think
that part should've been even better to conceal and make you wonder... and I think they won't stand the test of time.
I am glad, however, that the
blood and gore was very limited, maybe even less graphic than Lord of the Rings
- although at moments more brutal, it always remained tolerable for me.
I noticed only 1 scene with food
and the few animals who are killed in the movie are all evidently CGI, which
has been very helpful in the modern movies, since now it's possible to create
and animate just about any kind of creature.
Certain aspects of the story
surprised me but could see the developments of several events long before they
occurred...
The screenplay and the acting never truly shine, which is a tremendous let down, however.
It has a very basic good & peaceful VS brutal invader evil kind of plot, with very no shades of grey, anywhere...
Characters are either good, or bad.
The music was engaging, appropriate to this action packed movie.
The cinematography was very good,
as well as the 3D rendering, full of depth : all the 3D movies I saw thus far
are recent Science-Fiction and Fantasy movies, and I can see how that
technology is so well done.
It's also evident that Warcraft
is a product of our society, in the sense that there weren't enough female
characters (although they tried), as well as lacking in ethnic diversity in the main cast. This is
presumably the effect of the videogame itself, as most games suffer from these
two issues.
Another stems from certain choices of hair color associations with certain paths characters take, but I cannot say any more about that whilst the movie is still runing.
Overall, enjoyable movie, in
spite of these few flaws. I wouldn't call it exceptional but I am glad that I
went to see it in the theater as it had to be viewed on the big screen (it was
worth it, even though it was too loud for me as usual, and on the great news, I
used my theater's fidelity card points and watched it for free!!! )
Warcraft, in conclusion, is a mixed bag of some good aspects and some mediocre. Hence, the medium final score, I doubt that I'll want to watch it again and again, and I won't buy it as soon as it comes, if I ever do...
I will, however, go for the sequel and hope that it'll improve on all the flaws from this first one, because it sure could use that.
Starring (or voicing) :
Travis Fimmel, Paula Patton, Ben Foster, Dominic Cooper, Toby Kebbel, Ben Schnetzer, Robert Kazinsky, Clancy Brown, Daniel Wu, Ruth Negga, Anna Galvin, et al.
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