Warcraft – Bone Dragons for the Win

Warcraft is a peculiar study. For one, it’s the highest grossing video game film of all-time. It did cost $160 million, but, regardless, it made over $439 million. That sum would seem like a win, yet according to reporting, it needed over $450 million to break even. Though close, it apparently wasn’t close enough. Plans for a sequel have been scuttled—an outcome that further hurts an already weak film. Warcraft, unlike most video game adaptations, is slavish in its devotion to the property. There’s nothing inherently wrong with that, but when the plot is sacrificed in favor of boundless exposition, it can be problematic. For a fantasy film full of rich lore, the characters are not at all interesting. In fact, the humans are just a flat out bore.  The orcs have similar issues, but unlike their human counterparts, they do masterfully display where the budget for Warcraft went. The creature design and CGI on them is top notch. It’s a shame that it is largely wasted on a movie that’s so insistent on its world-building that it fails to give the viewers a reason to care about the universe they painstakingly constructed. The most mind boggling part of its ineptitude is that is was directed by Duncan Jones. Jones, fresh off of Moon and Source Code—both critical darlings—seemed to be the best man for the job. And he clearly understands how to craft a compelling narrative. Alas, it wasn’t meant to be. Well, anyway, it could be worse. At least we weren’t sent into the Mak’gora to fight for our lives. So sit back, hack open a Dragon’s Milk Stout from New Holland Brewing, and Lo’ktar O’gar! I, the Thunderous Wizard (@WriterTLK), Capt. Cash, and Chumpzilla are calling upon the guardian’s fel magic to wage war with the horde! This Week’s Segments: Introduction/Plot Breakdown – If you think the movie is convoluted, just wait until we try and dissect it. (00:00) Lingering Question – Warcraft was a mess, but an ambitious one. Did it deserve a sequel? (1:10:16) Recommendations – Next up: We Set the dial on the hot tub time for the 1990s, beginning our ode to the decade with The Big Lebowski! (1:34:39) And, as always, hit us up on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram to check out all the interesting factoids—Chumpzilla’s Azeroth deep dive and more—from this week’s episode! You can find this episode of Hops and Box Office Flops on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, Podbean, Spotify, Acast, TuneIn, and iHeartRadio!