So last weekend, J and I caught the Warcraft Movie at Gateway. There is a reason we like going to Gateway Cinemas – the chairs are designed in such a way that the person sitting in the row in front of you will not block your view of the screen. However, it’s been a while since we’ve visited Gateway (because it’s Cubao and not really the first thing you think of when you want to go malling) but it’s nice to see it again.
Warcraft Movie – Not as Bad as Critics Make It Out to Be
Okay, so back to the movie. I liked it. I don’t get why critics panned it so much.
Within the first few minutes, I felt so immersed in the Warcraft world. It was like the game come to life. The fight scenes were plenty, it was action-packed and exciting. So much so that in the middle of the movie, I noticed that my heart was actually beating faster. Now, this is a rare thing because I don’t usually get so involved in a movie’s action/fight scenes that I actually have a physical reaction. The only other movies where I felt so immersed were Speed (the one with Keanu), and Frankenstein (the one with Kenneth Branagh).
I was a novice Warcraft player, and by that, I mean I didn’t progress much beyond the first few campaigns. I was more of an Age of Empires player then. I am sure I missed a lot of inside jokes in the movie.
The acting was good. Okay, no one’s expecting anyone to win any Oscars, but I also did not feel any *facepalm* moment (unlike The Shannara Chronicles where open-mouthed Wil Ohmsford made me cringe every time I saw him).
All the actors were very committed to their roles, and very, very believable. Except for King Llane, because I kept seeing Howard Stark when I see him, but it’s not his fault, and I don’t fault his acting, although I agree he needed to bring more gravitas to his role as king.
I looooooove Travis Fimmel! This is a guy who looks so much better with facial hair. 
He should always have facial hair. I saw his picture without and he looks like a Calvin Klein model, hahaha! Because he was a Calvin Klein model. But seriously, in my opinion, the androgynous Calvin Klein model look is not a good look. 
Fangirling aside, he did a great job as Lothar, and was very believable as the most badass fighter in all of Azeroth. I might have to start watching Vikings now because of him.
All the characters (the good guys) had me feeling for them through their pain and heartbreak. This was not what I expected from a video game movie, and this is why I think of it highly. The Warcraft movie was a notch higher than expectations. If you think about video game movies like Super Mario Bros movie, Bloodrayne, Tomb Raider, the Resident Evil movies — Warcraft is on another level. Warcraft is actually *not* a stupid movie.
Story-wise, I think the movie should have been longer. It had the potential to be epic if only it had more time. Flow and pacing could have been better, but it is a really good movie, the best video game adaptation ever, I think. I even think if it had enough time to introduce people to the Warcraft world and include backstories, that it could even be Game of Thrones level in terms of world building.
Because of the lack of time, there were a lot of things that were not explained properly and what most people just had to accept at face value — such as What is a Guardian? What is the Kirin Tor? etc… and this is what throws a lot of moviegoers off. Despite that, I still really enjoyed the Warcraft movie.
Don’t go watching it expecting Lord of the Rings. It is not LOTR. It is a movie that brought the world of the video game Warcraft to life, and it did a great job. 
The movie is also setting up for a sequel, I can’t wait to see it! 
