Decent movie

Rating: 7/10 (29 May 2016)

I am quite surprised at the rate of bad reviews for this movie (on Metacritic). Is it perfect? No, not at all. Is it a satisfying movie experience with a couple of weak spots? Yes, absolutely.
I admit, people who've played the games (both WoW and the strategy series) will enjoy this movie far more than a person that had no experience with the franchise. Let's start with a couple of scenes I think fell short. Garona's assassination of Llane had a weird vibe to it. Why not do it like it was done in the lore? It would have made the experience far richer and I think Garona still wouldn't have been an antagonist, but her character would have definitely become more appealing. I think that was a missed opportunity.
The romantic stuff was... well, to me it was a little cringe-worthy, but not TOO bad. Nothing tops the overly awkward chemistry between Natalie Portman and Hayden Hayden Christensen in Attack of the Clones, so perhaps that has given me a higher tolerance of cringe-worthy romance. It did not fill too much time, so I don't hold that against the movie. The dialogue however could have been written far better than what we were given.
Why not destroy Stormwind City like it happened in the games? That would have been fantastic and actually been a far more dramatic finish! People who did not know the franchise before would have been surprised at the outcome of the movie. The ending just felt a little TOO Hollywood I'm afraid.
The pacing: Jesus Christ, everything happened so FAST! I really think some people who haven't played the games were/will have trouble to grasp what's actually happening. It feels like there is no quiet moment, no second to breath and while some may like that (hell, I understand the appeal) I belong to the people who prefer it when there are a couple of scenes that let settle things for a moment. However, I admit that that is just my personal preference.
More positively, because I feel like I bashed the movie, while not trying to do that: The little winks now and then to fans of the franchise. I couldn't help myself to smile and thought they were entertaining and thankfully not overdone. The cast seemed perfect, although I imagined Lothar to be slightly older than in the movie (but I love the actor, so f**k it). For the most part I think they stayed as true to the lore as they could, and I believe that the ending was done the way it was, due to intervention by the studio. The action sequences were enjoyable and the movie gave me everything I expected of it. No more, no less... and considering many horrible video game adaptations in the past that is not meant as an insult.