Warcraft movie: the main mistakes

[Magemaer]

People say there will never be a good video game movie. But honestly this one had all the potential for a great movie.

The main mistake of all, which is the root of many others: it targeted the wrong genre and the wrong audience. This shouldn’t have been tailored as a fast paced action movie, but a more well paced fantasy movie. It should be less like Pacific Rim and more like Lord of the Rings. I mean this as someone who enjoys good action movies. It’s just that this world and this story asked for something else. This, more than anything, hurt the movie.

There’s an interesting rich world to develop. There’s a war going on. But, mainly, there’s a powerful story to be told. Focus on the story, let the war be its stage, and the world develop naturally in the background, in the story’s pace. That’s the Lotr’s way.

The movie jumps too much, moves too much. There’s no time to breath, to soak things in. It kills our immersion, awe, investment. Powerful key moments are rushed, heart-breaking scenes are made shallow. Some of the best moments in the movie are those in which it slows down a bit and take the time to develop good dialogue. It’s a pity these are only here and there, and sometimes diminished by poorly written lines. Too much was sacrificed for upbeat action, disrupting fan-service, trying to set up a franchise. Again: why not focus on telling a really good story? The rest would come as a consequence.

They took a very promising source material (the story of the book “The Last Guardian”) and underdeveloped it. Let me point out some of the missed opportunities:

-Medivh’s storyline:
His almost godlike stand in the human world, his secret researches and explorations, him falling under his curiosity and hubris, him being actually manipulated and used, his ultimate dramatic demise under the hands of his dear friends, whom he betrayed. There’s a lot of Faust in his story. It’s powerful, archetypic, relatable.

Due to his depth and central place in the story as a whole, he should’ve been the main focus of the movie. We should, throughout the movie, be watching his pov, his lonely activities. His researches, discoveries, temptations, struggles, slow descent into madness.

It’s crazy how much potential there is here. Almost entirely wasted.

-Durotan’s outcome:
Many mistakes were made on the horde storyline and one of them is his demise. His awkward duel served as a way to both highlight Gul’dan and familiarize viewers with the mak’gora (anticipating Blackhand’s “climatic” ending). It’s a poor tradeoff. The original scene was much more powerful, as a mighty honorable warrior gets suddenly and cowardly assassinated by a group of orcs, secretly under Gul’dan’s orders. It’s a kick in the guts, GoT style. His death could not only be heartbreaking, but also revolting, bitter.
The duel took Gul’dan out of his character, made the orcish horde look weak and stupid, and put Orgrim’s storyline in a very weird place for the future. A poor tradeoff indeed.

The thing about Gul’dan is that he’d work much better as a less exposed character. His moment of publicly show his true colors is in the second war, in a dramatic turn of events.
He is creepy enough and does enough in this story to make him very repellent and suspect. He shouldn’t be detached as the obvious villain, but be there in the crowd as the dark sorcerer who is both suspected and feared by the common orc; as a skilled manipulator actually pulling the strings behind the scenes. (He would also appear in a properly developed Medivh’s storyline)

He was overfocused, in part, because the movie tries to justify and validate orcish bloodlust, and so it falls to Gul’dan to take the position of the one ruining their world and their ways. That’s quite a distortion. It is the brutal and wicked orcish culture that is bringing their doom.
Orcs are ruthless conquerors, destroying and ruining everything in their path, with no regards for others races (or for the “weak” ones in their midst, either). They’re also race supremacists. Gul’dan is merely using their passions to manipulate them into his own (demonic-driven) agenda.
In the future, what Thrall (Durotan’s son, who’ll be raised by humans) will do is reshape the Horde from this madness to a wiser version that retains their warrior-like virtues, but now respecting other civilizations and actually accepting other races into the Horde as one big family.

-Lothar’s grief:
He didn’t have a chance to properly have a meaningful grief moment! His moment of losing his own only son was torn between the heat of a battle and getting his thing going with Garona. What a wasted chance! Why didn’t the movie take the time to have a scene such as Théoden’s in the Two Towers? This is just a simple example. Everything was so rushed to make the action wheel keep spinning.

A simple, but important point: it wasn’t entirely clear how the other human kingdoms, and dwarves and elves, refused to make an alliance against the orcish horde. It was there, but it wasn’t meaningful, it wasn’t highlighted. It was rushed between the action.
Just as showing (and not excusing) the ugly side of the orcish side is important to later build up what the new Horde is, it’s important to highlight the selfishness, arrogance, bellicosity and old hatreds that run among the races of Azeroth, as this builds up what the formation of the Alliance is. The movie wasted the chance to have a longer and more interesting council of azerothian races, in which Llane is left, in the end, alone to defend Stormwind against the invasors.
To give proper closure to this human arc, Stormwind should, by the end of the movie, be sacked and burned, in a powerful scene. And a devastated but decided Lothar would be seen leading the survivors north (where they would finally work their differences and form the Alliance).
This is a great, heartbreaking, bittersweet movie ending. But can we have that in a shallow action movie? No way, sir.

In this, as in many other things, the movie chose a low, safe and repetitive route, instead of greatness.

-Garona:
Let me bring a counter-example here, a change that (maybe) actually have worked better. Her character was well developed (for this movie standard ofc) in a number of scenes. They decided to take a different route with her. In the original she also befriends humans. But in her past she’s not only cursed and bullied by the orcish society, she’s also tortured and broken into a puppet by Gul’dan. So he orders her to assassinate King Llane and she does that without his asking or expecting. She’s a broken person, a suffering and twisted soul. It’s a brutal assassination, and would be an impacting scene (very GoT).
But, while the original was really good, the choice they made here, unlike most others, is an interesting tradeoff. Everyone thinks she cowardly backstabbed him, but she only followed his orders. This highlights Llane’s great spirit of nobility and sacrifice, while also keeping a dramatic misunderstanding. You lose something great, a brutal betrayal, but gains something also great, sacrifice and misunderstanding (making way for future painful events and catharsis).
It’s a pity that even this interesting turn of events doesn’t get the development it deserves. Everything is so rushed, the grief scenes are a bit shallow and the dialogue (between Lothar and Khadgar regarding the event) is awkward.

Not only that. There were other good original ideas (such as Gul’dan intervening in Thrall’s birth; Taria giving Garona the fateful dagger; Medivh’s dying effort to save his king; among others). It’s a pity the movie as a whole wasn’t structured as it should have been. They missed A LOT of potential and even their successes were badly hurt.




There are many other mistakes in the movie, I just highlighted some that point at the story’s potential. If well developed, this would have been an incredibly good movie.

Just to be clear: the movie isn’t as bad as the critics are painting it. And many of the critics made out there are ridiculous, full of prejudice, when not completely laughable. From a technical point of view, it was really successful (CGI etc). The cast did a good job, especially considering they were working with a bad script. The movie didn’t live fully to its potential, but it wasn’t a total waste. It was enjoyable at times, it had its good moments.

This was Duncan’s first major mistake. He’s clearly a very talented director. It seems to me that he was very ill-advised by producers/market team, who wanted to “reach the general public”. What a misfire. Focus on making a great movie and you’ll reach the general public. Nothing reaches people better than a good (and relatable) story.

[Deleted]

This was Duncan’s first major mistake. He’s clearly a very talented director. It seems to me that he was very ill-advised by producers/market team, who wanted to “reach the general public”. What a misfire. Focus on making a great movie and you’ll reach the general public. Nothing reaches people better than a good (and relatable) story.

The problem is even Duncan had his hands tied up. His "director's cut" was actually 2h 40mins and he was actually critical about the lack of trailers and the type of marketing being done for months. A small fish like him doesn't really decide those things, it's the studios.

[Deleted]

The problem is even Duncan had his hands tied up. His "director's cut" was actually 2h 40mins and he was actually critical about the lack of trailers and the type of marketing being done for months. A small fish like him doesn't really decide those things, it's the studios.

That's actually such bullshit if it's true. I feel like a lot of the lore went unexplained and the storyline was jumpy. Why did the editors think this was a good thing to cut it out?

Lord of the Rings movies went on for almost 3 hours. This movie could've done the same and explained more of the lore. But maybe the crowd would've gotten bored by it. Who knows. Audiences these days are apparently all incapable of paying attention for that long? At least according to movie studios.

[Magemaer]

The problem is even Duncan had his hands tied up. His "director's cut" was actually 2h 40mins and he was actually critical about the lack of trailers and the type of marketing being done for months. A small fish like him doesn't really decide those things, it's the studios.

I get the same feeling about the situation. It seems like the studio forced the situation. After all, they were the ones paying it and going through risk. And the way Legendary saw this movie was basically as a cash-grab, potentially a sequence of lucrative low-quality movies. Which is, i think, a huge mistake. Despite coming from a video game franchise, this story is actually really good and could have made a great movie, being taken seriously.

It's hard for me to understand why Blizzard sold themselves so cheaply. The quality of their material, and their size and importance in the gaming industry, were reason enough for them to stand their ground and fight for quality.
But they were part of the whole process and they knew they were making an action movie. It amazes me. Why didn't you believe in the quality of your own story and franchise?

And why did Duncan decide to be a part of this? Why not fight to make a really good movie, instead of a safe cheap one? He wants to earn the studios trust for bigger budgets. But he should've learned to stand his ground, and focus on making movies that are both sellable and good.
It's not the end for him, many great directors did bad movies. But it seems like a misstep for me, considering the quality of his previous movies.

- - - Updated - - -

Lord of the Rings movies went on for almost 3 hours. This movie could've done the same and explained more of the lore. But maybe the crowd would've gotten bored by it. Who knows. Audiences these days are apparently all incapable of paying attention for that long? At least according to movie studios.

They should totally have gone for it. I mean, i remember how a lot of people got bored through most of Lord of the Rings, specially The Fellowship of the Ring. Still, most of these same persons considered it a good movie and went to watch the next two.
Now Fellowship was a much slower and less powerful movie than this Warcraft one could be. Even with a better pace, i doubt people would get bored, as so much happens throughout the story. There is more action and drama here than in Fellowship. And there is ending and closure with Medivh's demise and the burning of Stormwind, something Fellowship lacked (its lack of ending on its own was one of its main critics).
If Lord of the Rings worked this could have worked too.

[Sierra85]

the argument is that the studio's know what works for these type of movies to maximise the audience viewing, so they follow formula's. its why all movie posters of certain genre's all look the same. its cause your everyday man/woman needs information quickly.

they know the hardcore blizzard fan will go see it, so they dont need to market to those people. it's the new fans they need to get on board, so if you had millions wrapped up in a project you are going to use what works, not take a risk on some new type of marketing that might not.

[SirReal]

the argument is that the studio's know what works for these type of movies to maximise the audience viewing, so they follow formula's. its why all movie posters of certain genre's all look the same. its cause your everyday man/woman needs information quickly.

they know the hardcore blizzard fan will go see it, so they dont need to market to those people. it's the new fans they need to get on board, so if you had millions wrapped up in a project you are going to use what works, not take a risk on some new type of marketing that might not.

but they're talking about the movie.....not the marketing

pedantic to be pedantic?

[Cwimge]

Movie is shit because it only vaguely resembles the lore and history we know. I keep saying it, the film was hacked and dumbed down in order to make it zero-effort slop audiences can drink up without a seconds difficulty. An already pretty basic story, one that would of served just fine instead gets distorted because the modern audience wouldn't be able to follow the plot, if every orc was green

[Deleted]

Movie is shit because it only vaguely resembles the lore and history we know. I keep saying it, the film was hacked and dumbed down in order to make it zero-effort slop audiences can drink up without a seconds difficulty. An already pretty basic story, one that would of served just fine instead gets distorted because the modern audience wouldn't be able to follow the plot, if every orc was green

The story has shifted and changed so much in the game that it was the right decision to streamline and write one just for the movie. You can not copy paste a videogame story over to a movie, all you can do is take the general idea and stay true to the characters. Which this movie has done well in my opinion.

[Devilyaki]

Haven't seen it yet . Not out till the 10th maybe 9th midnight showing, but still excited to see it all the same. heard its a fun movie that a lot have enjoyed, only the uptight movie snobs are saying its shit. And they never hold much weight for me in these sort of films.

[Cwimge]

The story has shifted and changed so much in the game that it was the right decision to streamline and write one just for the movie. You can not copy paste a videogame story over to a movie, all you can do is take the general idea and stay true to the characters. Which this movie has done well in my opinion.

A "rise of the horde" film, perhaps peppered with a side-plot laying the groundwork for human characters would of both worked, and given them an easy sell for a trilogy. I am, admittedly being triggered purely over continunity. Still,. that is enough

[Deleted]

A little montage showing how the orcs used to live and Garonas origin would definitely have helped people who weren't into warcraft.

You're spot on with your other points, but I did love the film, I came out a damn site happier than in batman vs superman.

[KrazyK923]

Stormwind not being destroyed is an almost-unforgivable sleight on the movie.

I cannot believe they did not end with that. It saps all emotional tension and dramatic determination of Lothar from the movie.

I'm fine with random lore changes to make it more accessible, but Stormwind NEEDED to be destroyed. And it not happening reduces it an entire number score for me.

[Deleted]

And why did Duncan decide to be a part of this? Why not fight to make a really good movie, instead of a safe cheap one? He wants to earn the studios trust for bigger budgets. But he should've learned to stand his ground, and focus on making movies that are both sellable and good.
It's not the end for him, many great directors did bad movies. But it seems like a misstep for me, considering the quality of his previous movies.

It's not the first time Duncan had to deal with studio changing stuff with the final cut, the theater ending of Source Code wasn't the one he wanted.

But this is very common in Hollywood, very few directors have the power to decide anything on the final cut. That's why some even started their own production studios.

[kamil84]

Do not be so excited, I was watching a cam version and the story is rushed and awful.

[OreoLover]

There are enough threads. :|

[RobertMugabe]

As expected: After people have proven to be game designers, pointing out all the mistakes with WoW and coming to the conclusion, that every feature in WoW is a mistake....well, I am not surprised that now we are all directors and producers

*insert thank you gif*

[Deleted]

Stormwind not being destroyed is an almost-unforgivable sleight on the movie.

I cannot believe they did not end with that. It saps all emotional tension and dramatic determination of Lothar from the movie.

I'm fine with random lore changes to make it more accessible, but Stormwind NEEDED to be destroyed. And it not happening reduces it an entire number score for me.

I definitely think Stormwind being destroyed would've been a very powerful ending to the movie. I was expecting the city to fall, and whilst I didn't walk out of the cinema feeling underwhelmed, it was still something I expected to happen.

However, I have a feeling that they might be saving Stormwind's destruction until the beginning of a Warcraft sequel. The city being destroyed and evacuated at the beginning of the next film would and could set up the scene for a Second War based film very nicely. But even then, that misses the impact that Stormwind's destruction at the end of the first film could've delivered.

Regardless, I really, really enjoyed the movie. It was a good film in itself and I'm content with that.

[Sharde]

I definitely think Stormwind being destroyed would've been a very powerful ending to the movie. I was expecting the city to fall, and whilst I didn't walk out of the cinema feeling underwhelmed, it was still something I expected to happen.

However, I have a feeling that they might be saving Stormwind's destruction until the beginning of a Warcraft sequel. The city being destroyed and evacuated at the beginning of the next film would and could set up the scene for a Second War based film very nicely. But even then, that misses the impact that Stormwind's destruction at the end of the first film could've delivered.

Regardless, I really, really enjoyed the movie. It was a good film in itself and I'm content with that.

i think that is the most likely way it will go in the second movie.

- gul'dan is pissed that the orcs don't blindly follow him and still adhere to their traditions
- he creates the shadow council (later than in the lore), his own clan and asks his masters for assistance
- demons send mannoroth, he uses his blood to unleash the bloodlust onto the orcs as pure fel infusion is no longer sufficient for the level of control desired by gul'dan
- shift of focus on ogrim (possibly "turned" against his will in the movie) and grom as the new leaders of the horde as pawns of the legion
- NOW they repower the portal and finally destroy stormwind

after that the storyline could follow the lore more closely again

- lothar will retreat with his people to lordaeron
- dwarfs get attacked
- red dragons get enslaved
- gul'dan splits the forces to unearth sargeras' tomb
- the windrunner sisters join the alliance
- probably ending with an assault on draenor resulting in the final shattering of the world
- and it will involve cho'gall and zul'jin most likely which would be awesome

wouldn't be surprised if they do two parts for the warcraft 2 arc.

i liked the movie and it has all the potential to start a great series. but i also don't take anything in it for face value.

[-Gr-]

TL;DR

Gonna go see it any ways. Supporting this steaming pile for the years of fun I had in the game.

[Deleted]

-Garona:
Let me bring a counter-example here, a change that (maybe) actually have worked better. Her character was well developed (for this movie standard ofc) in a number of scenes. They decided to take a different route with her. In the original she also befriends humans. But in her past she’s not only cursed and bullied by the orcish society, she’s also tortured and broken into a puppet by Gul’dan. So he orders her to assassinate King Llane and she does that without his asking or expecting. She’s a broken person, a suffering and twisted soul. It’s a brutal assassination, and would be an impacting scene (very GoT).
But, while the original was really good, the choice they made here, unlike most others, is an interesting tradeoff. Everyone thinks she cowardly backstabbed him, but she only followed his orders. This highlights Llane’s great spirit of nobility and sacrifice, while also keeping a dramatic misunderstanding. You lose something great, a brutal betrayal, but gains something also great, sacrifice and misunderstanding (making way for future painful events and catharsis).
It’s a pity that even this interesting turn of events doesn’t get the development it deserves. Everything is so rushed, the grief scenes are a bit shallow and the dialogue (between Lothar and Khadgar regarding the event) is awkward.

Not only that. There were other good original ideas (such as Gul’dan intervening in Thrall’s birth; Taria giving Garona the fateful dagger; Medivh’s dying effort to save his king; among others). It’s a pity the movie as a whole wasn’t structured as it should have been. They missed A LOT of potential and even their successes were badly hurt.

Personally I did not mind them altering Garona's character. Personally I think they did so they audience had a female character to empathize with. I think it worked in the movie, also if there is a movie the relationship between Lothar and Garona will now be significantly more interesting I think. But that is just me.

What bothered me is that the Orcs did not have red eyes (the green ones at least). I know this is a very small detail but details are important. Also I dislike that they did nothing with Grom in the movie, he was there in a couple of scenes but he was just a foot soldier. I feel like integrating him and his "hellscream" would have made a valuable addition to the horde and made them look more menacing. Especially the ambush in the woods opened with that instead of Blackhand just dropping from a tree.

-Lothar’s grief:
He didn’t have a chance to properly have a meaningful grief moment! His moment of losing his own only son was torn between the heat of a battle and getting his thing going with Garona. What a wasted chance! Why didn’t the movie take the time to have a scene such as Théoden’s in the Two Towers? This is just a simple example. Everything was so rushed to make the action wheel keep spinning.

I completely agree with this. His son should not have made it in to the movie. Unless they made the movie longer and actually took some time to develop the character. I could not identify with his grief because his son was just a Stormwind guard to me.