Warcraft, the film, was an astounding effort by director Duncan Jones (Moon, Source Code), but didn’t quite come together when all was said and done in terms of story. It is a sweeping epic with enormous set piece and special effects that are dazzling at their least and mind-blowing at the most. There are characters that are not human that are completely CG that had to be created from the most vivid of imaginations. And all of this, while staying true to the video game that bears the film’s name. That’s why the DVD and Blu-Ray release of Warcraft is an interesting entity. For the first time in a long time, we can recommend a home video arrival based solely on its bonus features and ask viewers to look at the movie itself as of secondary importance.
Warcraft is marvel at magical movie making, if not storytelling, and for that we have to dive right into the masterful bonus features.
The World of Warcraft on Film: The “World of Warcraft” is so much more than just a game — it is a cultural phenomenon. That fact is chronicled in this extensive multi-part featurette that shines a spotlight on the various elements of bringing Warcraft to life on the big screen.
First we have to start with the reason the world (lower case “W” on purpose) of Warcraft is so huge, the fanatics. The Fandom of Warcraft delves into the history and breadth of the fandamonium behind the game and thus, the film. In addition, how it has influenced pop culture is explored.
A large part of why Warcraft looks so amazing onscreen is its stellar special effects. And for fans of that type of moviemaking, you should hardly be surprised at who is behind it – George Lucas’ ILM. ILM: Behind the Magic of Warcraft shows off some of the most amazing work that Lucas’ team has achieved with Warcraft, especially in the realm of facial capture technology. The emotional depth of the Orc characters is revolutionary and that is all due to the wizardry of Warcraft’s special effects team.
The World of VFX goes even further into the visual effects wizardry of Warcraft as the crew and Jones shed light on their secrets to bringing this imaginary world to life.
And on that note as well: The World of Talent spotlights the actors had to bring that emotional performance so that the effects magicians could capture it in the first place and this featurette dives in to how the cast achieved such power, and even goes back to the beginning and gets their reaction to being cast in the first place. It’s quite awesome.
What else is so special about how Warcraft came together is that two of the best VFX houses in the world joined forces, ILM and WETA (The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings). Outfitting a World shows how WETA, Blizzard and costume designer Mayes Rubeo collaborated to bring the costume aspects of the Orcs (and other characters) to where they needed to be for director Jones.
Since The Lord of the Rings, through The Planet of the Apes reboot, motion capture suits and the performances they create have come a long way. Check out The World of MOCAP zeroes in on how the creation of the Orcs was achieved, as well as other digital characters from inception all the way through to the final execution. Viewers will marvel at the process of watching the actors in their MOCAP suits, through how they are transformed into Orcs.
There are special and visual effects and there is the world of stunts. The World of Stunts takes us behind-the-scenes of how Jones incorporated special effects and the practical-ness that is the stunts that permeated filming. They had to look real and this featurette does a masterful job of showing how Jones and his team achieved the impossible.
Lastly, we have to salute the Warcraft: Bonds of Brotherhood Motion Comic. Fans will adore this never-before-seen motion comic that showcases the movie’s heroes — Prince Llane, Captain Lothar and Guardian Medivh.
Film Grade: C-
Bonus Features: A-