Saying Nice Things About Warcraft

As I mentioned last week, I really like earlier works of director Duncan Jones. I also played Warcraft, the first two games, hours upon hours about a decade ago.

So I went in to see Warcraft armed with all the negative reviews I had heard, and you know what? I actually enjoyed it. Duncan placed several easter eggs throughout the whole game, bringing back good memories. The story wasn't too terrible, and the plot was mostly easy to follow. There were actual characters that I could relate to, and the special effects were pretty decent.

The music caught the mood of the games, with drums, brass, and a plethora of minor chords, though I didn't recognize any specific tunes. The imagery caught the look and feel of the game. At one point we even get to see a battle from above, watching warriors raze a city.

With all that said, I can understand the negative reviews. If I had to sum up what I think the issue is, I would venture to speculate that Duncan was given the go-ahead on his first large project, and that he decided to go the uber-epic route. He wanted to create a movie so awesome that it would make Star Wars look like a Disney movie. ... um ... wait ...

A good epic movie has perhaps four or five really awesome scenes and some slightly boring, but important, setup. However, it seemed that Duncan wanted every scene to be epic, which didn't leave much time for setup. I thought there were some really cool scenes, but they were mostly hit or miss.

Either way I look forward to another project from Duncan. I would love another sci-fi movie that really makes you think. Please! Please! Please!

My recommendation: if you enjoyed playing the Warcraft games, go see this in the theater. Ignore the critics and go enjoy it. What's good for the Chinese is good for you -- right?

On the other hand, if you've never even heard of the game, you might want to sit this one out.