6.4 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
A race of orcs invades the planet Azeroth. There, they encounter few humans and dissenting Orcs, who fight back against the invaders.
Starring: Travis Fimmel, Paula Patton, Ben Foster, Dominic Cooper, Toby KebbellAction | 100% |
Adventure | 91% |
Fantasy | 64% |
Video codec: HEVC / H.265
Video resolution: 4K (2160p)
Aspect ratio: 2.43:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: Dolby Atmos
English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
French: Dolby Digital 5.1
English SDH, French, Spanish
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (2 BDs)
UV digital copy
4K Ultra HD
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Blizzard's video game World of Warcraft was, in 2015, amongst the inaugural entrants into the Video Game Hall of Fame, entering alongside other esteemed classics such as Super Mario Bros., Tetris, Pac-Man, and Pong. That puts it in seriously elite company. And with its sprawling story of humans (and other species) battling giant Orcs, it was only a matter of time before a related cinematic venture hit theaters. Seemingly long in development and anticipated for years prior to its release, Warcraft, directed by Moon's Duncan Jones, does justice to the material and stands as a special effects extravaganza, but the film doesn't quite find the same success as its video game namesake. Though not destined for any cinematic hall of fame, the film adaptation at least stands tall enough as a serviceably entertaining Fantasy/Adventure film that's more a product of its name and less any kind of interesting story it has to tell, forced to cram several games and many novels worth of development into a two-hour movie.
Note: The included screenshots are sourced from a 1080p Blu-ray disc. Watch for 4K screenshots at a later date.
Warcraft's 2160p UHD/HDR-enabled presentation can be a bit off-putting, and it's easily one of the most frustrating UHD releases to date.
Take an early sequence inside Ironforge, the hot, sweaty
indoor mining/smelting/etc. location in which the dwarvs craft various items, including the boom stick. On Blu-ray, the regular old 1080p variety,
the
image is appropriately hot. Flesh tones push warm seemingly by design, reflecting the scorching-hot environment. The UHD disc, on the contrary,
appears cool and toned down considerably. There's still a mild -- almost imperceptible, really -- orange push to flesh tones, but the image appears
fairly washed out in comparison.
Detail doesn't seem any more complex, at lest not by a significant margin. Dwarf armor, finer skin structure, and hair don't stand out as any more
revealing than on the 1080p Blu-ray. If anything, in that scene, anyway, advantage Blu-ray. Skip ahead to 11:08. There's a really good comparative
shot
where a dank, gray background is contrasted with two characters and a blue magical light in the foreground. The UHD looks fine, but flip over to the
Blu-ray and there seems to be more color depth, denser shadows in the background and more finely revealing detail. Much the same holds
true throughout. Garona is a much denser, seemingly more complex shade of green on Blu-ray. Later in the movie, during the big climactic battle in
the bright daylight, blood, war paint, and other bright colors are much more reserved on the UHD. In a way it looks better, but the Blu-ray feels
more revealing.
It's like Warcraft's UHD somehow went backwards on the HDR thing, dialing colors back rather than pumping them
forward. Who knows. The movie looks fine in motion and watching it doesn't really inspire or disappoint, but the comparisons do make one stop
and try to figure out what's going on. Detail is quite good, though again without any serious boost, if any, over the absolutely fantastic standard
Blu-ray. Maybe this is filmmaker intent, what Director Duncan Jones wanted of the movie's palette, though with such drastic differences in contrast
it's
hard to imagine there being this much discrepancy, particularly for a brand-new movie releasing both the 1080p and 2160p versions simultaneously
and with the 1080p Blu-ray holding the advantage, at least to these eyes. Again, this
UHD disc doesn't look bad by any means. The film was shot at 3.4K and finished at 2K, so it's unlikely that, detail-wise, this would have
been a serious boost, anyway. The UHD holds serve in that regard. It's very attractive on its own merits, but the Blu-ray, which is already awesome to begin with, just feels better on the eyes and
suits the movie more than this. Chances are, though, if one watches one version over the other, without stopping to compare them, few will walk
away from either presentation disappointed.
Warcraft's Dolby Atmos soundtrack doesn't deliver an onslaught of overhead sounds, but it does deliver a good all-around listen that uses the top layer to compliment the more grounded and immersive action. As it is, the track presents and maintains a level of listening excellence that's effortlessly immersive as all sorts of combat and supportive sound effects saturate the listening area. Battle scenes are everything listeners would expect of a finely tuned modern track. Screams, sword clanks, crashes, and all variety of mayhem jumble together with excellent definition, delivery, and sense of space around the stage. Battles are quite the clatter, supported by potent bass and plenty of natural surround use, including that complimentary overhead layer. Bass thunders in other places, too, maintaining breathtaking depth and detail even at the very bottom end of the scale. Supportive details encircle the stage. Gusty winds and blowing debris, whispery incantations, and discrete movement of lighter and speedier elements keep the ears engaged and the speakers working for the duration. Musical definition is excellent, again presenting with wide space, wrapping surround detail, excellent clarity, and a complimentary low end. Dialogue is clear and center focused and plays with natural prioritization.
Warcraft contains a large allotment of deleted scenes, a lengthy motion comic film, and many interesting featurettes. A DVD copy of the
film and a voucher for a
UV/iTunes digital copy are included with purchase. No UHD-specific extras are included. All extras are available on the included 1080p disc.
Warcraft may lack more readily accessible storytelling chops, but it's a technical marvel and an entertaining venture if one can just go with it. It'll speak more to established fans than newcomers, and the filmmakers have seemingly taken care to get a lot of it right. It doesn't lack superficial identity, but take off the name and redesign some of the pieces and there's nothing all that original here. Take it for what it's worth and enjoy the effects, action, and core story. Universal's UHD release of Warcraft features standout audio and video that is, for better or for worse, very much different in contrast than its 1080p counterpart. Though absent a commentary track (a track featuring a few of the games biggest fans breaking down the movie would have made for an excellent addition), the supplemental department isn't otherwise lacking. UHD owners might want to pick this up if they're going to get the movie, anyway, and make their own comparisons with the included 1080p disc.
2016
with 8 Collectible Character Cards
2016
2016
2016
Bonus Disc with over 30 Minutes of Exclusive Content
2016
Bonus Disc with over 30 Minutes Exclusive Content
2016
2016
2016
2016
2017
2016
Extended Edition
2014
2013
2014
2012
2014
Theatrical Edition
2002
2003
Theatrical Edition
2001
Director's Cut
2007
2011-2019
2012
2017
2016
2014
2011
2014
2010
Extended Edition
2016