Just a few months ago, Warcraft made its film debut after 10 years when it was first announced. Despite getting poor reviews, Warcraft was enjoyed by fans and later became the highest-grossing video game adaption film, grossing over $433 million worldwide with talks of a sequel. Being a fan of the Warcraft franchise, mainly through World of Warcraft, it was great finally seeing the game recreated in live action. And one of the biggest things Warcraft was able to capture is the essence and charm of the game, World of Warcraft, which ultimately could’ve led to its downfall.
From the beginning, with the battle with the nameless Alliance soldier against an orc, to the end of the film, Warcraft has pushed the bar when it comes to visual effects. The first scene with Durotan staring into the screen with such emotion is stunning knowing that it was all CGI. The amount of detail put into each scene has you sometimes forget that the orcs aren’t real as you escape reality and divulge yourself into the lands of Azeroth. Where big shiny armor, lush landscapes and fierce orcs roam the land, Warcraft successfully recreates the world of Azeroth with many familiar locations straight out of the game like Stormwind and Goldshire. As the world is woven together and brought to life, the story reminds you that this fantasy isn’t real at all. Fans of the Warcraft franchise are all too familiar with conflict between Orcs and Humans with many factions choosing one side or another.
The problem mainly with Warcraft is the conflict itself. There have been changes to the lore to allow a better transition of storytelling, and it’s almost a common fact that no book, story, game, or literature can 100% translate to live action or film. Fans of such great shows like The Walking Dead and Game of Thrones are all too familiar with changes to their lore, and the effects it has to the greater story, for better or worse. Warcraft, on the other hand, retells the original conflict in a basic manner the same way someone would explain the franchise to someone who’s never played. We end up with a story that has the Who, What, Where, and When, lacking the Why. We don’t know the orcs true intention of invading Azeroth nor do we see any reason to root for a side, since there isn’t a true good or evil side. It’s a huge change from the Lord of the Rings series which has the orcs displayed as evil and the humans, dwarfs, and elves as the heroes. Warcraft’s orcs are shown with emotion and their loyalties are tested among each other, which is supposed to lead to their downfall with a civil war among the clans should a sequel be created. We vaguely get a glimpse of the dwarfs and elves while the humans are shown as the damsels in distress throughout the film until the climax.
Overall, Warcraft is an accomplishment that no other video game franchise has created. It’s clearly close to the source material with some exceptions, but the essence of the franchise is alive and well. The orcs show what movies are capable of with rich emotion and detail, almost living side by side with the live actors. The World of Warcraft may have its faults, but hopefully not enough to have the sequel doomed before it can begin. We’ve only seen a small sample of what lies ahead between orcs and humans, and even though Warcraft is visually beautiful, the lore is much darker and bloodier.
Movie Rating: 3/5 Atoms
Bonus Features
Wacraft is full of features and bonuses that’ll make any Warcraft fan squeal. It’s as a little bit of everything for everyone, from gag reals and behind the scenes to in-game content to several Blizzard games. Several featurettes highlight how the World of Warcraft was created. It’s surprising to see that most of the sets were built and enhanced with CGI, even the armor and weapons, as shown below, we crafted beautifully similar to the franchise. The film itself is full of color that blends both orc and human well, so seeing Travis Hammel, Lothar, in full armor on a fully constructed set is a welcome one. Andy Serkis paved the way for years to come with motion capture, and though he isn’t in the movie, his legacy is seen with the many motion capture actors facial expressions captured as each orc breathes life in each scene.
Check out an exclusive clip from the Blu-ray below.
The many features included in the Warcraft Blu-ray (some exclusive) are:
- WARCRAFT: Bonds of Brotherhood Motion Comic (Blu-ray Exclusive)
- The World of Warcraft on Film (Blu-ray Exclusive)
- The World of Talent (Blu-ray Exclusive)
- The World of VFX (Blu-ray Exclusive)
- Outfitting a World (Blu-ray Exclusive)
- The World of MOCAP (Blu-ray Exclusive)
- The World of Stunt (Blu-ray Exclusive)
- WARCRAFT Teaser (Blu-ray Exclusive)
- Deleted Scenes
- Gag Reel
- Origin Story
- The Fandom of WARCRAFT
- ILM: Behind the Magic of WARCRAFT
Final Reaction
On top of all the behind the scenes of Warcraft, each Blu-ray comes with a DVD of the film, digital download code, as well as game codes for World of Warcraft, game code for Heroes of the Storm – Gul’dan, and game code for Heathstone – Medivh. As stated earlier, there is something for everyone with each copy of Warcraft and makes up for the shortcomings of the film. Watching the film is visually pleasing, and seeing how it’s been crafted and brought to the big screen will have you begging for more. All the content packaged in the Blu-ray are aimed to any Warcraft or Blizzard fan while tempting movie fans in general with the behind the scenes. It’s a package that will fit well in anyone’s collection.
Overall Rating: 4/5 Atoms
Warcraft hits home on DVD, Blu-ray, 3D Blu-ray and Ultra Blu-ray on September 27.
from Nerd Reactor
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