Overview
The peaceful realm of Azeroth stands on the brink of war as its civilization faces a fearsome race of invaders: orc warriors fleeing their dying home to colonize another. As a portal opens to connect the two worlds, one army faces destruction and the other faces extinction. From opposing sides, two heroes are set on a collision course that will decide the fate of their family, their people, and their home.
In spite of the dire reviews from the critics I really enjoyed seeing WoW come to life on the big screen at Hinckley Cineworld. Full disclosure: I’ve been a WoW player off and on for over 10 years so may be biased, but I was really curious how this would pan out and had a horrible sinking feeling after reading the professional critics reviews, but maybe they’re not gamers. During the first couple of minutes, as we were introduced to the Orc heroes I was like hmmm…not sure I can root for the Horde. (I’m an Alliance girl through and through) but then we switched to the sight of a familiar fortress hewn from stone. Ironforge! my spiritual home (dwarf/hunter). Then onto Stormwind, Goldshire, Elwyn Forest – all so familiar. Although this has obviously been made to appeal to the widest audience there are lots of nods to WoWers – the portals, the gryphon flights (that land in the right place at Stormwind) and even the fleeting sight and sound of a Murloc! The storyline was okay, the CGI was pretty impressive and overall a good time was had by all, well me at least. I’ll be interested to see if non-WoWers find it entertaining but I got a kick out of it and from the ending it looks like it was set up for a sequel.
For Azeroth! For the Alliance!
As I leaving I was greeted by the manager, jokingly telling me I should be barred (I’m there so often), at least I hope it was a joke – yes, I’m sure it was a joke!