Movie Review: Warcraft

So is Warcraft worth the price of admission? Yes, definitely, yes. I am guessing that most fans of Warcraft in all its incarnations are at least somewhat familiar with the storyline, and there aren't any major surprises here. A few details are different from previously established lore, but the broad strokes are still there. Having listened to the prequel audiobook, Durotan, I knew going in that the chieftain of the Frostwolves would figure prominently, and I was aware of the story of Anduin Lothar, Medivh, and the wizard Khadgar, and Garona Halforcen.

I hesitate to go into any further detail, in case there are those reading this who are avoiding spoilers. I do love the little details I was able to pick out that anchor the movie firmly in the world of Warcraft (no pun intended). The geography is true to the Azeroth I am familiar with, while expanding it to be more vast than the selective compression that makes Goldshire a tiny hamlet instead of a bustling village in WoW.

The performances are adequate for a film of this type. No one is going to win an Oscar, but I felt the actors emoted appropriately. Paula Patton as Garona stands out in this regard, and I found myself liking Ben Schnetzer as Khadgar. The "Serkis Folk" Orcs worked well, too. And I loved the spell effects and other pizzazz. Again, it really felt like a I was seeing what Azeroth "really" looks like.

On Thursday, I bought tickets for Scooter and me to go see the movie yesterday. Our local theater, as I may have mentioned in the past, has reserved seating, and it is AWESOME! What worried me just a bit was the fact that—even for a matinee—I was the first person to purchase tickets for that showing. Belghast, in his review of the film on Thursday evening, mentioned that quite a few folks attended his showing, people of a wide variety of ages. As it turns out, I needn't have worried. There were plenty of people at our showing, too. Not a full house, but it was a late afternoon matinee. Meanwhile, the movie has grossed $286,100,000 so far worldwide (as of this writing, including a huge chunk in China), all but guaranteeing a sequel.

The Tomatometer on Rotten Tomatoes is pretty low. I often think it's important to look at how the user score compares. And look at that score! Fifty-six points higher than the critics' score, leading me to think that, once again, the critics just don't get it. This film may not be for everyone, but I'm guessing that if you ever played any Warcraft game, from Orcs and Humans all the way through Warlords of Draenor, you'll enjoy this film.

And of course the ultimate question is, was I inspired to re-up after almost five years, and two expansions? Yes, yes I was. WoW is all patched up and ready to go. 😁

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