*SPOILERS* Shadowlands Cinematic Critique

[Travace]

It works and it doesn’t and it’s very easy to why. The cinematic sets up rules that it quickly ignores for the sake of the climax. It could have been a lot better if it just followed its own rules.

Rule 1: Sylvanas doesn’t want to be hit.

This is established by how she if very intent on avoiding Bolvar’s attacks, this is true to form and makes sense because she is a ranged fighter. We, the viewers, immediately sympathize with this challenge of ranged v.s. melee.

Rule 2: Arrow placement is important.

We find out later that the chains come from arrows and we know that these arrows do nothing to Bolvar, but thanks to how the camera focuses on the arrow that goes into ice, we can assume the arrows are important.

So that’s the set-up, where is the pay off? Well there is none, which is why the cinematic doesn’t work. We can gripe about lore, and power levels all we want but the cinematic doesn’t even work within its own self-contained bubble.

Rule 1 Pay-off: Bolvar does the ice storm in order to get within melee range of Sylvanas. This SHOULD be a pivotal point in the scene, from what has been established, Sylvanas should be getting knocked around at this point, but doesn’t. Showing that the established concern for being at range was unnecessary.

Rule 2 Pay-off: The placement of the arrows becomes apparent; we see the chains appear in significant ways that stop Bolvar. However, when Bolvar swings his hammer, chains appear from nowhere to stop him. Now we wonder, what was the point of the arrows? Why didn’t Sylvanas just start off with the chain if they could come out of nowhere?

At this point you have lost the audience, this is very common in today’s media; a character breaks the rules of the world in order to seem more powerful. It never sits well with the viewers because we feel like our time learning about the characters and the world has been wasted.

Solution: let Bolvar hit Sylvanas within the storm, show Sylvanas more concerned with where the arrows are and where Bolvar is. Show Bolvar able to break out of 1 or 2 chains early. Then when the chains come it will have a payoff and Sylvanas’ victory will seem earned and a result of her careful planning.

[united]

Except the second time Bolvar swings during remorseless winter, he almost gets her. And then he throws a rock at her that would’ve defeated her if she wasn’t a banshee.

That seems like enough to me. Bolvar is okay but he’s no match for Sylvanas, which is accurate.

[Kyphael]

Blizzard had no interest in showing even a semi-competitive battle. That cinematic was made to present Sylvanas as a threat even greater than The Lich King, even if it's a handicap Frostmourne-less iteration of Lich King, and to open the way to Shadowlands in a dramatic way, even if guts established lore for the sake of a light show (the sky rips open when the helmet is broken in half.)

[Coldfire989]

Every single thing you say is opinion and you are of course entitled to it. It is wrong but still.

[Reallyblizz]

Every single thing you say is opinion and you are of course entitled to it. It is wrong but still.

That’s your opinion but it’s wrong.

[Kharadin]

snip

Yeah, I took film studies when I was a teenager too. Thanks for dazzling us with your fantastic opinion.

[Nefastus]

Blizzard had no interest in showing even a semi-competitive battle. That cinematic was made to present Sylvanas as a threat even greater than The Lich King, even if it's a handicap Frostmourne-less iteration of Lich King, and to open the way to Shadowlands in a dramatic way, even if guts established lore for the sake of a light show (the sky rips open when the helmet is broken in half.)

Good point.

[sam86]

ur cinematic is 10 billion % better than what we got... sadly it never became real
they didn't want to make new animation of injured sylvanas to spend less resources, i mean those shiny ponies need those artists to work on them for more cash shop $$$
just 1 thing is wrong: spoilers tag in title, even ppl who don't play wow saw the cinematic, spoiler is for stuff that isn't released yet by blizz, like data mining in ptr patches, not something u can find in every gaming site

[Travace]

Every single thing you say is opinion and you are of course entitled to it. It is wrong but still.

You are quite skilled at pointing out what is opinion, you shouldn't squander your talent here, the internet needs you.

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Yeah, I took film studies when I was a teenager too. Thanks for dazzling us with your fantastic opinion.

Unfortunately, not everyone has had the same opportunity. Its good to have lots of information from different points of views in order to formulate your own opinion.
What might be obvious to you or me may be eye-opening to someone else, maybe they develop an interest in film-making and develop a screen play that doesnt make the same mistakes that this one scene did. And it's all because of this post! You never know!

[Marro]

It works and it doesn’t and it’s very easy to why. The cinematic sets up rules that it quickly ignores for the sake of the climax. It could have been a lot better if it just followed its own rules.

Rule 1: Sylvanas doesn’t want to be hit.

This is established by how she if very intent on avoiding Bolvar’s attacks, this is true to form and makes sense because she is a ranged fighter. We, the viewers, immediately sympathize with this challenge of ranged v.s. melee.

Rule 2: Arrow placement is important.

We find out later that the chains come from arrows and we know that these arrows do nothing to Bolvar, but thanks to how the camera focuses on the arrow that goes into ice, we can assume the arrows are important.

So that’s the set-up, where is the pay off? Well there is none, which is why the cinematic doesn’t work. We can gripe about lore, and power levels all we want but the cinematic doesn’t even work within its own self-contained bubble.

Rule 1 Pay-off: Bolvar does the ice storm in order to get within melee range of Sylvanas. This SHOULD be a pivotal point in the scene, from what has been established, Sylvanas should be getting knocked around at this point, but doesn’t. Showing that the established concern for being at range was unnecessary.

Rule 2 Pay-off: The placement of the arrows becomes apparent; we see the chains appear in significant ways that stop Bolvar. However, when Bolvar swings his hammer, chains appear from nowhere to stop him. Now we wonder, what was the point of the arrows? Why didn’t Sylvanas just start off with the chain if they could come out of nowhere?

At this point you have lost the audience, this is very common in today’s media; a character breaks the rules of the world in order to seem more powerful. It never sits well with the viewers because we feel like our time learning about the characters and the world has been wasted.

Solution: let Bolvar hit Sylvanas within the storm, show Sylvanas more concerned with where the arrows are and where Bolvar is. Show Bolvar able to break out of 1 or 2 chains early. Then when the chains come it will have a payoff and Sylvanas’ victory will seem earned and a result of her careful planning.

Why do we have to see Sylvanas being hit!? People need to accept she is better than Bolvar. Remember, just because he looks like Arthas LK doesn't mean he is

[InfernalDark]

Guess it's too hard for you to post this crap to the right forum section

[Kharadin]

You are quite skilled at pointing out what is opinion, you shouldn't squander your talent here, the internet needs you.

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Unfortunately, not everyone has had the same opportunity. Its good to have lots of information from different points of views in order to formulate your own opinion.
What might be obvious to you or me may be eye-opening to someone else, maybe they develop an interest in film-making and develop a screen play that doesnt make the same mistakes that this one scene did. And it's all because of this post! You never know!

More likely this post will serve to demonstrate what not to do when sharing ones views while trying to not sound like a pretentious knob.

[Wyrt]

I'm not at all surprised those giant goofy ass rabbit ears help her hear well enough to dodge attacks she can't see.

[Hastis]

Lich king power died with arthas together now is just a poor ash pile of human in armor even without frostmourne so this is not strong charater. I even bet that mankriks wife could kill him maybe a little longer than sylvanas did it but she also could

[Eazy]

Can we get rid of these threads already? We've seen the same cinametic, only people without eyes wouldn't seriously notice so simple things.

And I can't really agree with your rule nr 1 or whatever, so I guess you're just wrong.

And I really stopped caring if they could decide to change the cinematic, we've got what we've got and nothing can change it. Sylvanas is OP with her new powers and that fight ended like it should have. I don't like wasting time on things like "what if", nothing personal.

[Cosmic Janitor]

Not sure we need another thread to discuss something we have already multiple active ones for. But for the sake of argument, I think the whole fight would have been better with a couple of notworthy changes.

1st) Sylvanas is actually hard pressed and takes a few hits, yet manages to land what appears to be insignificant hits on Bolvar. Then the camera pans out and you realize she set up some large scale magic effect with her arrows among other things she did during the fight. Now she binds him, slightly battered, but still standing and takes the helmet.
-> This way she doesn't look like some overpowered marry sue, we have some actual stakes here and she can show that she is actually cunning. The cinematic we got just had it look like she was toying with Bolvar all along. She could have just killed him but kept him alive for some reason. That takes all the stakes out of it, since she is practially invincible thanks to smoke monster form.

2nd) Bolvar uses some proper scourge minions, not just peon level trash mobs you find in EPL near a plague cauldron. Use that stupid anime move with the rock on something like a frostwyrm. Have some of the minions try to open a portal to contact the Knights of the Ebonblade, but sylvanas manges to interrupt them.
-> Show off that Bolvar is not just a discount necromancer with a handfull of trashy melee mobs, he actually did something during the last couple of years. He prepared his own machinations, like shown in legion.

3rd) Scrap the completely moronic usurper line in the beginning.. that one makes absolutely no fucking sense.

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I'm not at all surprised those giant goofy ass rabbit ears help her hear well enough to dodge attacks she can't see.

His swings even have the giant ass robot alien dubstep sound attached to them.. of course she could hear them.

[Doffen]

There is a video on youtube with the reaction from the crowd. If they were like you before the end, maybe, and you might have a point, but the reactions from the crowd when she broke the helm and the sky opened, priceless. I could feel it through that video, the climax was astounding for those who were at blizzcon, I got literally chills out of it.

They raised the roof, just like Sylvanas.

[Cosmic Janitor]

There is a video on youtube with the reaction from the crowd. If they were like you before the end, maybe, and you might have a point, but the reactions from the crowd when she broke the helm and the sky opened, priceless. I could feel it through that video, the climax was astounding for those who were at blizzcon, I got literally chills out of it.

They raised the roof, just like Sylvanas.

That is pretty much the same as SW:TLJ, the hyperdrive through the giant ass mothership also looked awsome and was perfectly executed, but if you actually think about it, you just fucked everything in lore for that one awsome shot.

[Kumorii]

Rule 2 Pay-off: The placement of the arrows becomes apparent; we see the chains appear in significant ways that stop Bolvar. However, when Bolvar swings his hammer, chains appear from nowhere to stop him. Now we wonder, what was the point of the arrows? Why didn’t Sylvanas just start off with the chain if they could come out of nowhere?

Since they appear from thin air, yes they can "come out of nowhere". The arrows works simply as anchor.
As shown earlier in the trailer when she grabs arrows from an undead corpse she has already killed the entire horde infront where we just did a timeskip when it faded to black for the "Blizzard entertainment". Plenty of arrows on the battlefield already.
Granted they don't show us the anchors/arrows for the chains that gets wrapped around the weapon and his shoulders, but by that point it's already established how the chains work. She can materialise chains and used arrows as an anchor, assuming that's the case even for those chains isn't really a stretch it's just simple logic by what has been established.

[Doffen]

That is pretty much the same as SW:TLJ, the hyperdrive through the giant ass mothership also looked awsome and was perfectly executed, but if you actually think about it, you just fucked everything in lore for that one awsome shot.

That might be, and I wasn't a big fan myself, but the climax was there, I could feel it. I forgot how silly I thought it was myself after seeing the sky broke. But then I also thought for a second that wohaa, NZoth was right, we live in a dreamworld

Not saying OP don't got a point, deffo something missing in the cinematic.