Video game movies have endured the expectation of failure since the beginning. In the past few months, shows and movies based on video games have shattered box office records and gained widespread critical acclaim. Most audiences still expect the worst of every adaptation that hits the screen. That negative expectation is largely thanks to disastrous wastes of time, effort, talent, and brand recognition like Warcraft.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie has made more money than anyone was anticipating. Mario is already one of the most recognizable characters of all time, and his new leap to the big screen still managed to outperform expectations. It's the highest-grossing video game movie of all time. Which film did it have to beat to claim that gold medal? Warcraft.
What does the Warcraft movie get right?
Warcraft is one of those fantasy franchises that have deep layers of lore buried underneath the average user's experience. Most players have a basic understanding of the franchise. They can name a few major characters, identify all the races, and state the motivations of the major armies. However, there's still a lot going on before the main plot and behind the scenes. Some percentage of the fanbase finds no end to the excitement hidden in those deep tomes. Warcraft is the film for them. The lore is plentiful and accurate. Warcraft functions as a 101 course for all the basics of Azeroth. Arguably, this was the intended purpose of the film. The first entry in a franchise has the duty of setting the stage for future films, and though those sequels don't seem to be coming, the first film's efforts are appreciated.
The smartest creative choice made by the team behind Warcraft is almost unquestionably their approach to the all-consuming Horde vs. Alliance conflict. Rather than picking a side, the film staffs both armies with heroes and invites the audience to choose their favorite. All that fanservice wouldn't land if the film didn't look just right. Luckily, the $160 million budget is all played out in VFX. The detailed artistry on display is often impressive, making the visual design of Warcraft its finest asset. An uninformed viewer with no knowledge of the franchise will come away with some decent fight scenes and cool visual effects. The world is well-realized, thanks entirely to straightforward CGI digital backlot work.
What does the Warcraft movie get wrong?
The problem with Warcraft is that none of its expansive world-building does anything to immerse its viewers in the fantasy environment. It has a lot of lore, and it looks fine, but it's all boring set dressing on an utterly dead experience. All the characters are dull stock archetypes, despite the best efforts of the cast. All the lore chokes the life out of the world. It's not interesting. For all of its sword fights, drama, and intrigue, it lacks any human element to draw in an audience. On an emotional level, the story is too generic to be compelling. This isn't a case of a Hollywood studio losing faith in its video game source material. It's as if the entire film was written by the people who meticulously edit the fan Wikipedia entries.
Tragically, Warcraft isn't a terrible film. It would be much more memorable if it was considerably worse. Its biggest sin is its complete lack of originality. It's not that it lacks any new ideas, it's that it doesn't want to put in the bare minimum amount of effort required to make it a story. If the film were willing to embrace its weird campy elements, it'd be an unquestionable cult classic. If it featured one likable character, it would have its fans. If it was terrible, it would be a mainstay of "so bad it's good" viewing. In its current state, it's utterly forgettable.
Does Warcraft deserve its bad reputation?
Currently, Warcraft has a 29% positive critics score on Rotten Tomatoes. Perhaps more revealing, the average score from critics is 4.4 out of 10. Whatever one might feel about critics and their opinions, they seem to have found an objectively correct numerical value for this film. It's perfectly below average in all aspects. Outside the critical view, the film was the best-selling video game movie of all time. Though it brought in a tremendous amount of money, it still failed to pay off its comically overstuffed marketing budget. Warcraft earned its critical and financial failure by lacking any recognizable virtue.
Warcraft is the worst kind of bad movie. There's nothing in it worth remembering. People remember Sonic the Hedgehog because it's charming and fun. People remember the 1993 Super Mario Bros. Movie because it's weird and bad in an experimental way. Warcraft is the cinematic equivalent of a boring college course about the franchise. Fans will just have to hope that if Hollywood ever returns to Azeroth, it'll bring some life to the world of Warcraft.