Finally saw this. Overall I liked it, but it's easy to see why it wasn't a bigger hit, at least in the US.
Visually: I had no complaints. I thought it all looked good. It may have been a little cartoony in places, but it's based on a game known for some cartoony elements. They definitely tried to stay faithful to the feel of the game. Very nice job all around.
Storywise...I got a little lost at times. Also, some of the "reveals" were just silly. Like naming the kid Goel...that is a pointless reveal. Everyone who knows who Thrall is, already knew that, and anyone who didn't, doesn't care because they don't know who he is. They also brushed over names in some places...I had to rewind to realize that when they mentioned Anduin they were talking about Lothar. They took for granted that the audience already knows who these people are way too often. If you didn't play the game then you have no concept of locations, who the Kirin Tor are, if fel magic is new why does everyone know about it and where did all these demons come from...they took a lot for granted.
The one thing they did take time to explain was the one thing that needed no explanation: "the fell" is bad magic...yeah...didn't really need that...since fell magic is a known description in fantasy movies. "Fell deeds awake!"
But, there were plenty of positives as well...the story itself was interesting, the acting was good, the CGI on the Orcs was great. I actually liked it enough to want more. I'm hoping that an extended version adds some of the missing exposition and character development.
In the end it was almost the opposite of the Hobbit: instead of stretching a movies worth into three movies, they seemed to be trying to cram three movies worth into one.
Visually: I had no complaints. I thought it all looked good. It may have been a little cartoony in places, but it's based on a game known for some cartoony elements. They definitely tried to stay faithful to the feel of the game. Very nice job all around.
Storywise...I got a little lost at times. Also, some of the "reveals" were just silly. Like naming the kid Goel...that is a pointless reveal. Everyone who knows who Thrall is, already knew that, and anyone who didn't, doesn't care because they don't know who he is. They also brushed over names in some places...I had to rewind to realize that when they mentioned Anduin they were talking about Lothar. They took for granted that the audience already knows who these people are way too often. If you didn't play the game then you have no concept of locations, who the Kirin Tor are, if fel magic is new why does everyone know about it and where did all these demons come from...they took a lot for granted.
The one thing they did take time to explain was the one thing that needed no explanation: "the fell" is bad magic...yeah...didn't really need that...since fell magic is a known description in fantasy movies. "Fell deeds awake!"
But, there were plenty of positives as well...the story itself was interesting, the acting was good, the CGI on the Orcs was great. I actually liked it enough to want more. I'm hoping that an extended version adds some of the missing exposition and character development.
In the end it was almost the opposite of the Hobbit: instead of stretching a movies worth into three movies, they seemed to be trying to cram three movies worth into one.
