Blizzard Reveals Warcraft Movie Trailer

[Politrukk]

Oh look, a bunch of naysayers and highly critical people just on the first page. What a surprise!

Everyone is so damned negative and cynical these days.

Al right, I can understand why you'd think that, but I'd like to make it clear that I'm not being negative because I'm le cyniclal misantrope. Being cynical for cynicism's sake is just being too chicken to take emotional risk.

I'm negative towards this movie because it doesn't look particularly promising. It looks a bit cheap, and doesn't have the colour and dash I'd expect of a Warcraft film. I think it's the live-action, mainly, it doesn't seem to work side-by-side with the more stylistic elements. And while it's not possible to tell for sure from so little acting shown, it does look like the actors aren't having very fun with it either.

As for my Orc-related whinging, it's just because I'm so tired of them. It's a personal gripe, I know, but by God am I green-fatigued. They've been front and center for years now, they've had one and a half expansions for themselves.

We've also had an expansion and a half about the Burning Legion (Burning Crusade ring any bells?)

We're actually getting into the second Burning Legion expansion and it is pissing me off because that will make 2 and a half expansion focussed on TBL that's nearly half of the WoW expansions.

I yearn for something more along the lines of Wrath, Vanilla WoW or Gilneas.

 

[Silence]

All these people complaining about lore confusing lore as much as Blizzard ... I don't even know which version is the right one, now. At least I know that no elves, no dwarves, no draenei, no etc. is correct. Also, they probably streamline some shit.

Trailer looks okay. Some CGI looks good, some looks not as good. I don't think the movie will suck as much as some people want it to suck.

 

[TakeyB0y2]

This anti CGI stance is the most annoying thing that has plauged movie criticism for long time now. I mean no one gave Beowulf a chance because of how "Uncanny Valley it looks"

I mean for goodness' sake can you just appreciate the hard work these CG animators had to go through the make the Orcs look as realistic as possible. I mean jeez they added tiny little hair follicles in their bare skin

Imagine if you were the animator and designer of the Orc models in this movie and everyone is shit talking your work without mercy? I'm sure its not that easy making detailed realistic textured Wacraft Orc for a live action movie.

Since when does hard work excuse you from receiving criticism? Yes, it's hard work, and people pour hours on hours, days and days and even years into their work, but at the end of the day if something's crap then it's crap. It's great you have a passion and work ethic but at the end of the day you're still creating something that you're expecting people to pay money to see, and they expect something in return, and if what they get in return is crap they're not gonna care how hard you worked on it.

 

[Muspelheim]

We've also had an expansion and a half about the Burning Legion (Burning Crusade ring any bells?)

We're actually getting into the second Burning Legion expansion and it is pissing me off because that will make 2 and a half expansion focussed on TBL that's nearly half of the WoW expansions.

I yearn for something more along the lines of Wrath, Vanilla WoW or Gilneas.

Did I suggest that I think hopping right back to Legionland is the best direction? Pack those bells in.

But I do agree with you, the Legion's well covered at the moment. They had all of Burning Crusade to rest their arms and have had a pretty big slice of the pie the other expansions to boot. Well, what escaped from Garry & Thrall's grubby hands. They're an overaching enemy, but they're been worked pretty thin. I'd like something similar, too, in way of expansions. Vanilla's main strength on that front was that it had many different threats and enemies, rather than sticking closely to one. A fire god, plotting dragons, Troll empires, insect swarms ruled by old gods, it was a rather refreshing mix. And some development for poor abandoned Gilneas would be lovely, for sure. It was a crying shame that they threw it away the moment they got bored of Worgen.

But at least it's a departure from Orcs of Orcnor, and all that Orcy business that muscled in on poor Pandaria's prime time. Fingers crossed for some other time.

 

[RedDeadFred]

If you're going to have that much shitty CGI, at least make all of your characters utilize it so that there's a good amount of consistency. The difference between the CGI orcs and the "real" orcs is noticeable to the point of distraction. Maybe it's the art style they're going for, but IMO, it really doesn't mix well with the live action stuff. I kind of wish they just went all out with the CGI and did something Pixarish. Instead, it's jarring and some of the effects look like they're only a step above an Asylum movie.

As someone who has never really followed the Warcraft story, it doesn't do a very good job of getting me interested.

This anti CGI stance is the most annoying thing that has plauged movie criticism for long time now. I mean no one gave Beowulf a chance because of how "Uncanny Valley it looks"

I mean for goodness' sake can you just appreciate the hard work these CG animators had to go through the make the Orcs look as realistic as possible. I mean jeez they added tiny little hair follicles in their bare skin

Imagine if you were the animator and designer of the Orc models in this movie and everyone is shit talking your work without mercy? I'm sure its not that easy making detailed realistic textured Wacraft Orc for a live action movie.

It's not anti cgi, it's anti, shit cgi. I don't care how the creators feels about criticism. They've made a movie and movies are open to criticism. I don't think they did a very good job, so I'm going to call them out on it By that extension, no, I don't appreciate the hard work they put into it because this is their job and I would expect better. Good for you if you think those visuals are good enough. Enjoy the movie. I personally think it looks terrible and will likely kill the immersion for me.

Also, you bring up Beowulf. It was a decent movie and any complaints I have with it have NOTHING to do with the CGI. It may not have been amazing, but it looked consistent. There was nothing jarring about how it looked IMO. I would much rather have had the Warcraft movie take the same approach. Instead, it looks like a weird mix of cartoons and live action. Sort of like a modern Space Jam.

 

[Zhukov]

Eh, looks kinda fun. Admittedly the sort of fun that I would be mildly embarrassed to be seen purchasing a ticket for, but fun nonetheless.

Granted, I'm a bit of a sucker for conflict-between-two-sides-which-aren't-actually-evil storylines and I've never been all that bothered by CGI.

 

[chozo_hybrid]

I'm just glad I'm getting something Warcraft to enjoy that isn't an MMO, being a fan of the original rts games. Glad it also seems to be trying to keep it fairly simple too.

 

[mrjoe94]

I'm of the opinion Blizzard should've just made a 100 minute WoW cinematic using the same team as all their other stuff. The CGI looks fine, but it doesn't blend well with the real life bits. That's about my only complaint. Looks entertaining enough.

 

[xaszatm]

Ok, guys and gals, this movie is retelling the first game, also known as Warcraft: Orcs and Humans. And really, it's the Orks against one human nation. This is why there are none of the other races in the games yet as they either don't take part of the war or, in some case like the Scourge, haven't even been created yet. As for the Steampunk Megitech WoW is known for...that doesn't really appear until III and WoW. So yeah, the picked one part of the lore that needs the most "work" (like 90% of that game is no longer cannon and is told via other soures) yet doesn't have all the things Warcraft is now known for. So I can see why people are so outraged over this.

However, I still think it's going to be a fun movie. Not necessarily a "great" movie, but a fun one. Honestly my expectations for this movie was "Will I Warcraft battles brought to the big screen?" And I got it.

 

[Gizen]

Oh god, they are seriously going to retcon the whole story into nothing but orcs fighting humans aren't they?

First it starts by saying that they are leaving Draenor because its "dying"; they left because Gul'dan tricked the orcs into invading Azeroth so that he could find the Tomb of Sargeras. No hints of the Burning Legion at all in the trailer which to me is a little concerning considering how big they are in the Warcraft EU.

It looks like Thrall gets sent down a river moses style, instead of being left for dead by assassins and found by Proudmoore. Also looks like Garona is more half human instead of half draenei.

Overall it looks as expected I just hope they don't sacrifice too much of the original story.

Gul'Dan never really tricked the orcs into invading. He tricked them into drinking demon blood, which led to them ravaging and ruining Draenor, which forced them to invade as a necessity because Draenor was fucked, which it turns out was secretly always the plan to begin with.

As for Garona, while she IS half-draenei, everyone involved, including Garona herself thanks to Shadow Council brainwashing, believed her to be half-human for a long time.

All that said, Thrall getting sent down the river would definitely be a retcon, unless that's his parents' dying act...

 

[Callate]

It's pretty, but I have to say the CGI and live-action characters don't look very well integrated. The CG ones look pretty damn good on their own, but when they share the screen with humans...

Probably worth a look on a dull night at a second-run theater for the visuals, assuming they didn't put all their best work into the trailer and fill the rest of the movie with "people talk while barely moving in front of CGI vistas". Whether it's worth seeing at full price, I'll wait to hear from the critics.

 

[Bobular]

I always had my doubts about a Warcraft movie, but that actually looks quite good.

 

[flying_whimsy]

Why are there cartoon orcs in my game of thrones?

Seriously, looks fairly compelling, especially since I played warcraft so long ago that I've completely forgotten all but the most basic bits of story (which is exactly what the trailer had anyways).

All of that cgi is a bit off-putting, though. Kind of makes me wonder what the point of doing a 'live action' movie was in the first place. At this point I'd prefer if the whole thing had been animated like all of the wow mini-movies or whatever they are.

 

[Grimh]

Wasn't interested in this movie at all, but I'm actually kind of loving this. They're totally going for it, armors and all.
If the story isn't absolute garbage I think I'm gonna enjoy this.

 

[Samtemdo8_v1legacy]

This anti CGI stance is the most annoying thing that has plauged movie criticism for long time now. I mean no one gave Beowulf a chance because of how "Uncanny Valley it looks"

I mean for goodness' sake can you just appreciate the hard work these CG animators had to go through the make the Orcs look as realistic as possible. I mean jeez they added tiny little hair follicles in their bare skin

Imagine if you were the animator and designer of the Orc models in this movie and everyone is shit talking your work without mercy? I'm sure its not that easy making detailed realistic textured Wacraft Orc for a live action movie.

Since when does hard work excuse you from receiving criticism? Yes, it's hard work, and people pour hours on hours, days and days and even years into their work, but at the end of the day if something's crap then it's crap. It's great you have a passion and work ethic but at the end of the day you're still creating something that you're expecting people to pay money to see, and they expect something in return, and if what they get in return is crap they're not gonna care how hard you worked on it.

I just find it upsetting that people calls the CGI on Orcs shitty? I mean really? That is shitty CGI to their eyes?

These is shitty CGI:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AY4HtOcJzSo

And that movie was made in 1997 5 years after Jurassic Park 1 and the same year as The Lost World.

 

[Samtemdo8_v1legacy]

If you're going to have that much shitty CGI, at least make all of your characters utilize it so that there's a good amount of consistency. The difference between the CGI orcs and the "real" orcs is noticeable to the point of distraction. Maybe it's the art style they're going for, but IMO, it really doesn't mix well with the live action stuff. I kind of wish they just went all out with the CGI and did something Pixarish. Instead, it's jarring and some of the effects look like they're only a step above an Asylum movie.

As someone who has never really followed the Warcraft story, it doesn't do a very good job of getting me interested.

This anti CGI stance is the most annoying thing that has plauged movie criticism for long time now. I mean no one gave Beowulf a chance because of how "Uncanny Valley it looks"

I mean for goodness' sake can you just appreciate the hard work these CG animators had to go through the make the Orcs look as realistic as possible. I mean jeez they added tiny little hair follicles in their bare skin

Imagine if you were the animator and designer of the Orc models in this movie and everyone is shit talking your work without mercy? I'm sure its not that easy making detailed realistic textured Wacraft Orc for a live action movie.

It's not anti cgi, it's anti, shit cgi. I don't care how the creators feels about criticism. They've made a movie and movies are open to criticism. I don't think they did a very good job, so I'm going to call them out on it By that extension, no, I don't appreciate the hard work they put into it because this is their job and I would expect better. Good for you if you think those visuals are good enough. Enjoy the movie. I personally think it looks terrible and will likely kill the immersion for me.

Also, you bring up Beowulf. It was a decent movie and any complaints I have with it have NOTHING to do with the CGI. It may not have been amazing, but it looked consistent. There was nothing jarring about how it looked IMO. I would much rather have had the Warcraft movie take the same approach. Instead, it looks like a weird mix of cartoons and live action. Sort of like a modern Space Jam.

Again how can you say this is shitty CGI after Mortal Kombat Annihilation? I mean how high standard do you raise for Quality CGI in live action movies?

 

[Silverbane7]

maybe a 'humans vers orc's' movie was the only way to keep Metzen out of the new expansion?
i remember someone saying 'thank god' that someone must have shoved Metzen in a cupbord with a supply of of dew and a thrall bodypillow this expansion (talking about Legion) because it wasnt just about orcs this time.

now, while the difference between the orcs and the humans is jarring, and i do have to agree, that it would have been better to just use CGI for everything (and yeah, i actualy liked beowulf for doing that)... the CGI itself does not bother me. its the difference between the real worlds actors and the CGI that is jarring.
its likely going to be just humans and orcs though...seems thats what blizzard had/have been going towards for the last couple of expacs (to me at least, it feels like that) having an elf-centric (ie the demon hunters) might give those of us suffering from orc-overexposure a breathing space.i think i will watch it for free(ish) when it hits sky or DvD myself.... unless someone who has seen it allready conferms its not *just* orcs and humans....i can see that by booting up warcraft3 after all... i want to see how they handle the night/blood elfs and the dwarfs and gnomes...but they probabl cant afford em, cause they spent all the CPUcycles on the dam orcs

 

[Samtemdo8_v1legacy]

maybe a 'humans vers orc's' movie was the only way to keep Metzen out of the new expansion?
i remember someone saying 'thank god' that someone must have shoved Metzen in a cupbord with a supply of of dew and a thrall bodypillow this expansion (talking about Legion) because it wasnt just about orcs this time.

now, while the difference between the orcs and the humans is jarring, and i do have to agree, that it would have been better to just use CGI for everything (and yeah, i actualy liked beowulf for doing that)... the CGI itself does not bother me. its the difference between the real worlds actors and the CGI that is jarring.
its likely going to be just humans and orcs though...seems thats what blizzard had/have been going towards for the last couple of expacs (to me at least, it feels like that) having an elf-centric (ie the demon hunters) might give those of us suffering from orc-overexposure a breathing space.i think i will watch it for free(ish) when it hits sky or DvD myself.... unless someone who has seen it allready conferms its not *just* orcs and humans....i can see that by booting up warcraft3 after all... i want to see how they handle the night/blood elfs and the dwarfs and gnomes...but they probabl cant afford em, cause they spent all the CPUcycles on the dam orcs

How is the human actors and CG orcs really Jarring compared to other movies with live action actors and CG creatures?

I mean there is Gollum and the Hobbits, The live action Avengers next to Hulk, Davy Jones in Pirates 2 and 3, and the Apes in Planet of the Apes?

 

[Silverbane7]

because the hobbits look just small, and gollum, you expect him. but for those of us that play/played world of warcraft... humans are just as huge and just as broad as the orcs. it was something that wound me up, when i played aliance, that all men, all human males, were msucled up man mountains, even the mages.
what is kinda jarring for me is that the humans arent as big/mucle'd as they should be (if you are used to orcs next to humans from the game)
hence, why if they had just gone the full CGI, it wouldnt be as jarring for me. i have had years of the man mountain humans fighting the man mountain orcs...addin ghtose wheedy and spindly humans next to them feels odd to me.

the CGI itself isnt the problem lol. its the contrast between the CGI orcs (who look decent enough like their in game versions) and the spindly little humans (compared to their more robust and *flex* Mr universe style old in game selves)