Wednesday, June 8, 2016

Some Thoughts on Video Game Movies

I'm going to be seeing Warcraft tomorrow night, and I couldn't be more excited.  I know that the critics don't like it, but I think I have a pretty good idea as to why. 

One big problem with movies like this is that directors have to balance a mass appeal with pleasing the fans.  And all too often, it seems like the mass appeal wins out.  Something like that leads to a mediocre movie, with little to no fan appeal.  In some cases, it's barely recognizable as being even related to the video game it's based on.   A great example is the Mario Brothers movie.  It barely resembled anything coming from the Mario games, other than the names. 

Another aspect is that quite a lot of fantasy movies are going to be compared to Lord of the Rings.  But I know that it just won't live up to that standard.  It's too high of one to pass.  It's not that video game lore is bad, but it's just not the same as a book series. 

But even with all the criticism I've see, I am hopeful for the Warcraft movie.  The many critics who have seen the movie dislike it, but the people who have actually played the Warcraft games, and are familiar with the lore, are enjoying the movie.  I'm also looking forward to seeing the visual effects, which have been widely praised.  I'm looking forward to hearing how the music is integrated into the film.  The soundtrack is available on the WoW site for listening, and it is AWESOME.  I had shivers listening to it.

So I'm going into seeing it with exceptions of seeing some of my favorite lore come to life on the big screen.  I'm looking forward to seeing the places I've been playing in for over ten years being up on a big screen.  I want this to be a movie for the fans, and not for mass audiences.  Because we the fans will be the ones to bring their friends into the movie, and we can explain the lore and such so it makes sense to our friends.

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