Duncan Jones' Warcraft - Part 1

[DarthSkywalker]

Hobbit movies bury Warcraft production-design wise. Elven king's attire alone is better than everything we saw in the trailer. The only chance Warcraft has - the story is better written and paced.

The thing is, like all Blizzard stories, we are talking about something super derivative. I isn't original in its tone or execution. There is little chance that it wont feel like more of the same in that regard. So it needs to wow in other ways.

 

[-JKR-]

Like Flash Gordon? Hook? I'm just trying to think of examples of 'fun' fantasy movies that you had in mind.

Willow

 

[StarLord]

Okay, people, please humor me and watch the Quicktime version:

http://videos.movie-list.com/vob/Jacques1400/ProRes/Warcraft_Trailer1_Texted_Stereo_PCM_1080p.mov


This looks so much better than the YT version, it all blends together much better and there's actually more texture to the CG whereas the YT version makes it smooth.

Cheers for that.

It does look a tiny bit better. Less ''everything and everyone stands out and the backgrounds suck''. Kinda.

 

[SerialPeacemake]

The thing is, like all Blizzard stories, we are talking about something super derivative. I isn't original in its tone or execution. There is little chance that it wont feel like more of the same in that regard. So it needs to wow in other ways.

Its other competitor in the genre (game movies) pretty much suck on te the storytelling front.It only need to be marginally better that the second best to considerde the best game movie to date (which would bring it close or pass the rottentomatoes fresh rating).Considering the level of complexity and weight the Warcraft storyline,this is very much doable if they got the writing right.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

Its other competitor in the genre (game movies) pretty much suck on te the storytelling front.It only need to be marginally better that the second best to considerde the best game movie to date (which would bring it close or pass the rottentomatoes fresh rating).Considering the level of complexity and weight the Warcraft storyline,this is very much doable if they got the writing right.

The Warcraft story isn't complex, it is a mess. It started out well, but it got ridiculous, especially once WOW hit. They kept adding on layer after layer until it ate itself and became straight parody.

And you lose me when you start judging it as a "game movie". It isn't. It is movie and it has to compete with all other movies. This is exactly what Superhero films had to figure out. People going to the movie theater aren't going to see a videogame movie. Not the crowd that really counts.

So Warcraft isn't competing with the horrid Super Mario Bros. movie or he terrible Resident Evil flicks. It is competing with Star Wars, Marvel, Pixar, Harry Potter, Jurassic Park and all the other massive franchise.

 

[PacificBoy]

I feel its chance of success with the casual moviegoer is getting past the inevitable comparisons with the LotR and Hobbit movies. Based on a video game is also a hump to get over. Something about it has to be fresh.

 

[SerialPeacemake]

The Warcraft story isn't complex, it is a mess. It started out well, but it got ridiculous, especially once WOW hit. They kept adding on layer after layer until it ate itself and became straight parody.

And you lose me when you start judging it as a "game movie". It isn't. It is movie and it has to compete with all other movies. This is exactly what Superhero films had to figure out. People going to the movie theater aren't going to see a videogame movie. Not the crowd that really counts.

So Warcraft isn't competing with the horrid Super Mario Bros. movie or he terrible Resident Evil flicks. It is competing with Star Wars, Marvel, Pixar, Harry Potter, Jurassic Park and all the other massive franchise.

Thankfully we not dealing with the convoluted mess that is the current WoW lore, they're saling back to the era of the first wars( albeit a retconned one).

You may not be judging it as a video game movie but the reviewers will be slotting it in that bracket they see it (which explains why superhero movies tend to get score scomparable to far better conventional movies) .If it managed to exceed the already low expectation of a games movies then good initial word of mouth is guaranteed( kind like how the Visit exceeded the expectation of a Shyamalan movie).


I disagree .It would be compared to other video games movie first, high fantasy second ( you can switch the first and second allotment) and then as a summer blockbuster .No movie reviwere are putting this in the same slot as those grand BB successes(Star Wars, Marvel, Pixar, Harry Potter, Jurassic Park ) prior to its release, becasue quite frankly nobody at this point believes if is in their calibre.

 

[OutOfBoose]

The thing is, like all Blizzard stories, we are talking about something super derivative. I isn't original in its tone or execution. There is little chance that it wont feel like more of the same in that regard. So it needs to wow in other ways.

Well, the story looks like a total remake of Planet of the Apes so far. What is there to wow people with? Fans will be delighted with quotes, locations, references and stuff. But the rest? Some bombastic magic and action, emotions...

 

[DarthSkywalker]

Thankfully we not dealing with the convoluted mess that is the current WoW lore, they're saling back to the era of the first wars( albeit a retconned one).

You may not be judging it as a video game movie but the reviewers will be slotting it in that bracket they see it (which explains why superhero movies tend to get score scomparable to far better conventional movies) .If it managed to exceed the already low expectation of a games movies then good initial word of mouth is guaranteed( kind like how the Visit exceeded the expectation of a Shyamalan movie).


I disagree .It would be compared to other video games movie first, high fantasy second ( you can switch the first and second allotment) and then as a summer blockbuster .No movie reviwere are putting this in the same slot as those grand BB successes(Star Wars, Marvel, Pixar, Harry Potter, Jurassic Park ) prior to its release, becasue quite frankly nobody at this point believes if is in their calibre.

I keep up with the Warcraft story still, though I don't play WoW. I hate retcon and I am still confused by what exactly is going on, though the return of Illidan is cool.

Reviews do judge within the genre, but that is the film genre. Videogames movies aren't a genre. Depending on the game and the movie it produce, it falls into different categories. If you made a Half-Life movie, it would be a sci-fi flick. If they made The Last of Us movie, it would be a zombie movie. If Uncharted happened, it would be an action adventure film in the vein of Indiana Jones.

If this movie is too be successful, it has to be on that level. Star Wars? Nah. But if Warcraft isn't making good money, it won't be successful. If it triples the best Resident Evil, it will be a financial failure. This movie isn't keep. Warcraft doesn't have the built in fanbase of a Batman or Star Wars. It doesn't have the brand of Marvel. So it needs to pull people through quality.

 

[OutOfBoose]

So Warcraft isn't competing with the horrid Super Mario Bros. movie or he terrible Resident Evil flicks. It is competing with Star Wars, Marvel, Pixar, Harry Potter, Jurassic Park and all the other massive franchise.

And with Mortal Kombat. It's a good movie on it's own, I'd say, it did what comic book movies do today.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

And with Mortal Kombat. It's a good movie on it's own, I'd say, it did what comic book movies do today.

I enjoy both Mortal Kombat movies. The first is pretty good, but the second is hilariously bad imo. I get very nostalgic about both of them.

 

[Voltron]

CGI and the sepia color grading looks mostly terrible and jarring where it doesn't blend with the humans. But I'll still go see it for Ragnar.

 

[Drz]

Well, the story looks like a total remake of Planet of the Apes so far. What is there to wow people with? Fans will be delighted with quotes, locations, references and stuff. But the rest? Some bombastic magic and action, emotions...

I couldn't care less about those, I want a good story above everything!

 

[DarthSkywalker]

I still think I will be seeing it as long as it doesn't bomb something crazy with the critics. But my expectations have been vastly diminished.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

I couldn't care less about those, I want a good story above everything!

They have the material there to pull it off, but they'd have to rework it and make it a bit more dynamic and different imo.

 

[StarLord]

This had 20 months in post production, apparently.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

This had 20 months in post production, apparently.

Yeah, it has been finished filming since early 2014, I believe. You'd think it would look photo-realistic at this point.

 

[OutOfBoose]

I enjoy both Mortal Kombat movies. The first is pretty good, but the second is hilariously bad imo. I get very nostalgic about both of them.

The first one is probably one of the main movies of my childhood. The second one is so bad it's actually good sometimes. Point is, we know good examples of movies based on games. Even the silliest sources can be made into decent and enjoyable movies. As long as there's understanding of the source, talent, budget and a bit of luck, of course.

 

[StarLord]

Yeah, it has been finished filming since early 2014, I believe. You'd think it would look photo-realistic at this point.

I was looking up the filming details and it was shot from January to May 2014, and yeah, you would think it would look way better.

 

[OutOfBoose]

I still think I will be seeing it as long as it doesn't bomb something crazy with the critics. But my expectations have been vastly diminished.

Pretty much the same about expectations.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

The first one is probably one of the main movies of my childhood. The second one is so bad it's actually good sometimes. Point is, we know good examples of movies based on games. Even the silliest sources can be made into decent and enjoyable movies. As long as there's understanding of the source, talent, budget and a bit of luck, of course.

Same here. I had my mom take my brother and I to see it in theaters. I was rather young, but played MK. She had no idea what the heck was going on, and I still remember my brother losing his mind when Scorpion said, "get over here". The tease at the end got me so hyped. I also agree on the second film being so bad, it is enjoyable.

 

[Drz]

They have the material there to pull it off, but they'd have to rework it and make it a bit more dynamic and different imo.

Well the trailer already shows alterations, with Durotan getting a heavy emphasis.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

I was looking up the filming details and it was shot from January to May 2014, and yeah, you would think it would look way better.

No matter the time, it is about the money. Competing for quality man hours. With someone like ILM, they have a lot of teams and they vary a bit in quality. Star Wars will have significantly less post-production, but it will no doubt have better CGI.

 

[StarLord]

No matter the time, it is about the money. Competing for quality man hours. With someone like ILM, they have a lot of teams and they vary a bit in quality. Star Wars will have significantly less post-production, but it will no doubt have better CGI.

Oh yeah, I think we've already seen how much better the CGI is.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

Oh yeah, I think we've already seen how much better the CGI is.

I get that they are making a lot of full CGI characters, but after Planet of the Apes, there really isn't an excuse. Not if you want to play with the big franchises on the block.