We’re getting to that time of the year when Best and Worst lists will start littering the internet. And one movie that seems poised for infamy as 2016 closes is Duncan Jones‘ maligned video game adaptation “Warcraft.” The filmmaker has been candid that he didn’t quite get to make the movie he wanted to, and the result was a blockbuster that was savaged by critics, flopped domestically, but did quite well overseas, particularly in China. However, filmmaker David Lowery, the man behind this summer’s utterly charming “Pete’s Dragon,” believes there’s some very good stuff to be found in “Warcraft,” and that movie fans would do well to give it a shot.
In the latest “Underrated/Overlooked” column for The Talkhouse, Lowery shares his thoughts about “Warcraft,” and admits that it doesn’t always work. However, he does praise the visual effects, the times it subverts expectation, and Jones’ imaginative world building. Here’s an excerpt from the piece:
I will admit that I lost track of the plot machinations from time to time. Likewise, the human characters in general sort of blur together, with the exception of Ben Foster as a sexy wizard and Travis Fimmel as a knight, both of whom possess the requisite amount of scraggliness to stand out amongst their ogreish costars, and have story arcs commensurate to what’s going on in CGI-land. There is one particular powerful moment with Fimmel’s character in which he watches, powerless, as a loved one perishes. It’s the part of the movie where one might be forgiven for expecting the camera to crane upward as our hero sinks to his knees, arms spread wide, and shouts, “Nooooooooooooooooooooo” to high heavens, but what happens instead is so surprising, so subtle and so true that it nearly brought a tear to my eye. It’s a great bit of writing and direction and, in spite of the drudging Jones endured from critics and audiences over the course of the past summer, I hope he’s held on tight to this scene and stayed proud of it.
I have a feeling Roger Ebert, the founder of the Overlooked Film Festival and infamous hater of video games, would have admired this movie. He always had a fondness for films in which entire worlds were created, particularly if they were full of bright color and imagination. He didn’t care if they were CGI or not. In fact, more often than not, he would admire films for pushing digital effects to their limits. Astonishing was the word he most often used for these movies, and it’s one I like to think he would have applied to Warcraft. I’d agree.
Particularly when movie criticism these days can be dismissive, it’s nice to see Lowery really dig into “Warcraft” and find the personal touches Jones put into the film. Thoughts? Did you dig “Warcraft”? Let us know in the comments section below.