movie review – Bran Lindy Ayres

warcraft_teaser_poster I don’t review movies too often, there are so many reviewers out there and I know how much I disregard reviews myself. I rarely ever agree with critics on movies. Everyone has their own tastes, same with books or video games.

I’ve actually had the opportunity to see several movies in the theaters this summer, something that rarely happens for me. I’ll tell you something that might surprise you: of everything I’ve seen this year so far, Warcraft is by far the best movie.

Before you laugh your way to the unfollow button, hear me out.

I saw Civil War and while it was good it lacked so much that would have made it great. It felt rushed and the characters manhandled into their roles.

I suffered through TMNT2 and it was everything you should never do in a movie. (Some one please rescue Megan Fox from Massive Bastard and give her some real roles please). There was little to no character development and the plot was so thin as to be transparent. The cartoon had more plot and characterization in 20 minutes than that entire movie.

Which brings me to Warcraft. I played the game a few years after it came out, but not religiously like some. I left a while back and just never got back into it. So I came into the movie with only a few loose memories and no major expectations.

Within the first 5 minutes I’m blown away. It’s both epic and intimate. There are massive sweeping battle scenes that had me holding my breath and private moments so painfully intense I was in tears. I forgot I was watching a movie.

The best part? These characters really truly felt alive in ways that no other movie this year has accomplished. There was more characterization of Gul’dan in the first 3 minutes we meet him than Casey Jones got in the entire TNMT movie. This holds true for the rest of the large cast.

Where Civil War fumbled handling multiple character viewpoints, Warcraft excels and draws us in and shows us how both sides are much more similar than they ever would imagine. Each character had their own moment to shine but never at the expense of the plot. One of my favorite aspects was how the women in the movie were real, concrete and had agency.

So much credit goes to both the actors and the VFX people for making the orcs feel so real, and—dare I say it—human. Too many times I get distracted by the effects and get pulled out of the movie. This was not the case here. It was a beautiful meld of real and CG that only enhanced the story.

I can’t say much more without spoiling it but I will be seeing it again.

This past week I took my girl friend to see The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones. She’s been reading the books. I have not. Other than a vague idea that it involved demons and demon hunters I knew nothing about the storyline. Apparently, this was a good thing since a lot of fans of the books are outraged at the changes made. Wait, don’t we go through this fan-rage every time a book gets made into a movie? Harry Potter, Twilight, Eragon (okay that one was really bad) Percy Jackson et cetera and so on.

First off, I enjoyed the movie. The characters were likable, the acting was well done, the settings were by turns beautiful and gritty, and the action was intense. It was also nice to see that the warlock Magnus Bane was cast as an Asian, specifically Godfrey Gao whom I find hideously attractive. He scintillated on screen for the few moments we were privileged with his countenance. Oh, so I have been informed that in the book Magnus is Japanese. Well good on them casting an Asian at least, even if he is Chinese.

Godfrey Gao as the Magnificent Magnus Bane

Clary’s actress was quite fun to watch and I loved how flippant she was at times. She didn’t succumb to the standard damsel in distress routine even if she spent the first half of the movie in terrified denial. She is pretty, but not blonde. Yay for not blonde pretties! And she’s not afraid to throw a knife at a charging werewolf. Yay for badassery!

Speaking of blond pretties, Jace’s actor was fun to watch. He’s a smartass but somehow his actor made you feel as though it was his way of protecting himself. Interesting layering in his performance that I was not expecting from someone so young…and pretty. I was a little disappointed that he didn’t end up bloodier after the final boss battle. He would be very pretty in red, but that’s my personal er-thing.

The rest of the cast are equally good, no scenes felt contrived or poorly acted. The plot itself was full of tropes, but without being overly predictable. I especially liked where and how the special object was hidden. Having watched it, I am now convinced to go buy the books.

I am rather intrigued by how obsessed we’ve become with the supernatural. While it seems to be a trend, like superhero movies, it covers every genre from books and graphic novels to television shows and movies. It seems the more atheistic our society becomes the more these types of shows and books appeal to our fantasies. That subject might be interesting to explore in another post.

Don’t forget my sci-fi novel Sorrow’s Fall is available on Amazon. The Kindle edition is only $.99!