Warcraft: The Movie

So, I just got home from seeing Warcraft. In short, it was awesome! Some spoilers ahead, so reader beware.

Story-wise, even though I knew how it would turn out, and what the big twists would be, it was thoroughly enjoyable. Well paced, with a good mix of action and dialogue throughout. It definitely got the tone right, of there being good people on both sides, but little twists of fate keeping them as enemies.

The main characters were all awesome. Lothar, Khadgar, Medivh, Garona, Durotan, Orgrim, Blackhand, Gul'dan... all portrayed extremely well. Top marks to all the actors.

The aesthetics were really good. I was initially a bit disappointed in Karazhan's portrayal, but that was redeemed by the end of the film. I also loved the flyover shots of the big cities, Ironforge and Stormwind. Shown as much bigger than in WoW, with all the recognisable landmarks there... as well as a few which I expect to be destroyed by WC3 times! The Dark Portal looked great. Blackrock Mountain's little cameo in the background was great. It felt like a fleshed out version of the world I know and love.

The music, I have mixed feelings on. In general, it was really good - but, close to the start of the film, we see  Stormwind for the first time, and the first few notes of the epic Stormwind Theme play... only to peter out into a different theme. That was my only real frustration. On reflection, the music seems familiar, yet more primal. Like it's from a different period of history from the world I know and love.

A few disappointing things - not entirely sure what Medivh's fel-possessed form was supposed to be. He looked a bit like a twisted Illidan with spikes. The Draenei and the Night Elves and High Elves looked pretty tacky, though they all only had tiny parts. I would imagine a future film featuring Malfurion, Illidan, Kael'Thas, Maiev, etc, would have elves looking better. The orcs looked awesome, though, so it was clearly just a matter of focusing effort. In general, the fact that the other races of the Alliance only got bit parts was a bit disappointing. I don't even remember seeing a single gnome! But that's to be expected, given the story's "Orcs and Humans" focus.

There were so many little nods and references to fans of the series. Character and place names seemed to be mentioned regularly, to make a fan like me go "yup, I know exactly where that is on the map". Plus, of course, the funniest moment of the film, Khadgar casting a very familiar spell in the dungeon!

There's probably way more to talk about which I've forgotten already, and I deliberately didn't talk too much about the main plot!

That was my first film review on this new blog, and it was a good one. The best film I've seen in the cinema this year! (ie, better than Batman v Superman, and Civil War... not too hard!)