The war between orcs and humans is here.
On Friday, November 6, Universal and Legendary pictures unleashed the highly anticipated first trailer for Warcraft, a film based on the plot of the original and highly successful video game: a savage conflict that pits man against orc. There are also elements of magic, fantasy, and adventure.
The trailer is full of sweeping shots showing off different landscapes, like the fiery, volcanic Orc homeland, verdant forests, and cloudy, magical cities in the sky. There are also a lot of men in hulking armor spouting off campy lines. And yes, there are bone-crunching, frenetic battle scenes.
Warcraft is one of the most ubiquitous video game franchises in history. Given its immense popularity and success, expectations for the movie are high. Not only is it sure to be a special effects orgy for the eyes, but if it's legitimately good (the trailer looks a tad too campy, and seems like mindless fun), it could change the way we think of video game movies — just like Iron Man and The Avengers changed the way we think about superhero movies. While movies based on video games have occasionally succeeded financially (see: the Resident Evil series), there's never been one that earned critical acclaim while also doing well at the box office.
Warcraft hits theaters on June 10, 2016.
