The Warcraft movie made gigantic piles of money overseas but wasn't particularly loved by critics or fans over here. Now, let's take a look back at what worked, and what didn't in Warcraft. While there are certainly places where the movie did a good job, the film missed the mark most of the time. Check out the Honest Trailer for Warcraft.
There may be no better way to start off the Honest Trailer than by calling Warcraft a gorgeous looking high budget mess. It certainly was pretty to look at, which is something that we haven't always been able to say about movies based on video games. The orcs are also put together fantastically well. We know how much work that Industrial Light and Magic did in order to imbue those characters with real life and emotion. For the most part, they succeeded with flying colors. The orcs are by far the best characters in the film.
However, the orcs only make up half the movie. The other half is all of the humans, who don't fair quite so well. They're all a bit wooden as compared to the orcs, which is odd, all things considered. However, the biggest issue that Warcraft faces is simply the density of its lore. The film tries to convey so much detail about the world that it all takes place in that it's not difficult to get lost in it all unless you've been deeply embedded in the games for years.
While Warcraft bombed stateside, it did massive business in China. While it's looking less and less likely that we'll see a sequel, it seems clear that the Chinese audience would be in favor of one. It goes to show how strong China is becoming as a box office revenue source. If there ever is a Warcraft 2 it will likely be geared specifically for that audience. Part of the reason that the movie is credited as having done well there is that the game World of Warcraft is still popular in China, while it has fallen a bit out of favor here. One wonders how the movie would have done if it was released now, following the release of the game's newest expansion, which has rekindled interest in the franchise, at least to some degree.
Video games are still looking for a film adaptation to gain wide acceptance and box office success. There certainly will be no shortage of attempt in the coming months and years. While many hoped Warcraft would be that film, fans of video games are now looking toward December's Assassin's Creed with hopes that it might be able to wow audiences. Even if it does not, it seems clear Hollywood is committed to trying to make games work as movies.
Did you think Warcraft was a better film than the Honest Trailer gives it credit for? Let us know your thoughts on it in the comments below.
