Ignore the Critics, Watch Warcraft!

[Antropus]

The movie is being hammered by the critics, but is doing amazing among viewers. The proof is the mere 27% score on RT, while 83% of all viewers are reporting to have liked it. Also, the USA box office is no longer the measure of a movie's success. The proof is that the movie made a little over 20 million in the US, while it made almost 200 million in China alone, in only 4 days, putting the movie at 287 million as we speak, assuring a sequel! I went with low hopes and I really enjoyed it. 60% to 70% easy. No way a 2.7 out of 10 like RT's "professional" critics are saying. Really unfair score. Besides... I worked on the movie, so go see some of our CG orcs in the big screen! So far, not a lot of critics bashed the CGI, quite the opposite, so go watch for the CGI alone and you will not be disappointed. :) -Kris

[CriticalCid]

I can confirm that. I saw the movie last week and it’s not a masterpiece but still a pretty enjoyable movie. I’m a huge WarCraft 3 fan and it was definitely the movie I’ve wanted for so long. If you like WarCraft you will most likely the movie too. Also I want to say thanks for your work on this @Antropus. The CGI is top notch! You CGI guys definitely get not the appreciation you deserve!

[Zombeaver]

Antropus said The proof is the mere 27% score on RT, while 83% of all viewers are reporting to have liked it. Also, the USA box office is no longer the measure of a movie's success. The proof is that the movie made a little over 20 million in the US, while it made almost 200 million in China alone, in only 4 days, putting the movie at 287 million as we speak, assuring a sequel! I went with low hopes and I really enjoyed it. 60% to 70% easy. No way a 2.7 out of 10 like RT's "professional" critics are saying

Firstly, scores like this are retarded. Period. And that goes for video games as well. How much more enjoyable is a 7.2 movie than a 7 movie exactly? Is it enjoyable or not? Is it worth watching or not? Those are the only measurements that mean anything. People look to this stuff because it's an easily digestible, quickly reference-able thing that you can point to and be like "See it's good!" or "See it's shit!" or "No, your opinion is wrong - it's actually amazing; just look at the metacritic score." It's retarded. The most specific it needs to be if you want get a little more adventurous than "It's good" or "It's bad" would be: Avoid Like The Plague < Watch/Buy It At a Discount < Watch/Buy It ASAP Saying X movie is "2% worse than Shawshank Redemption" is utterly pointless, nonsensical gibberish. Secondly, I have no idea why in the shit anyone would/should care how well or poorly a film does in sales (whether domestically or worldwide) in terms of measuring whether or not something is a good and enjoyable film. Is anyone actually going to a movie, really enjoying it, hearing that it was a commercial disappointment, and suddenly hating the film? If I really enjoy a film, it's good to hear when it's commercially successful, but that has absolutely zero impact on what I actually think of it as a film. The best thing anyone can do if they want something resembling a guide for whether or not they should see/play something is find a critic whose opinions you consistently agree with and then trust them to steer you in the right direction most of the time. I'm a big fan of Jeremy Jahns for example. Simply adopting an approach of "what's the aggregate opinion based on a whole bunch of weighted data" is just asking for disaster, in my opinion. I Hate Everything made a video on this topic less than a week ago and makes some really good points. I actually think they're even more pointless than he makes them out to be though, for the reasons I mentioned above. Sorry if any of this comes across as belligerent or overly aggressive - this is just a topic that a feel pretty strongly about and my frustration is in no way directed at you personally. I feel like people just quickly look at some numbers, pay no attention to any of the specific points raised in a review, and proceed to jump to hyperbolic conclusions... it drives me crazy! All these scores are designed to do is give you a quick prepper before you read a review as to the general outlook that the reviewer had; positive or negative. People don't use them like that though - they use them instead of a review and in a completely nonsensical comparative way to say "See?! Apples really are better than oranges!" with zero context or consideration for any specific criticism or praise raised. "See?! This game is worse than Call of Duty because it has a metacritic score that's 4 points lower!" ...despite the fact that the games were made 4 years apart, are a different genre, were reviewed by different people, and the points raised in their reviews have varying amounts of relevance depending on the individual tastes of the player. It's just complete nonsense.

[Antropus]

I agree. People should watch and make up their own minds. Following others and their own biases and personal taste is giving up your own mental ability to discern. I do take in account the box office success though, because that's what I do for a living and if the movie does well, then I will probably be able to work on a sequel and this kind of movie is a blast to work on ;) Did you watch it? Planning to?

[Zombeaver]

Antropus said I do take in account the box office success though, because that's what I do for a living and if the movie does well, then I will probably be able to work on a sequel

That's all well and good but again that has nothing to do with the quality (or lack thereof) of the film itself. It has nothing to do with whether or not it's enjoyable to watch. Telling people that something is worthy (or not) of their attention because of how well or poorly it does at the box office makes literally zero sense - it has nothing to do with anything. People eat up overblown blockbuster junk like it's candy and ignore deep intelligent films all the time... neither is an indication of whether or not a film is good (there are awesome blockbusters and terrible "smart" films, mind you). I'm glad you'll have more work to do but, not to be a jerk, why would anyone else care about that? You're not talking to people who worked on it, or will be working on sequels, your talking to people who might potentially watch it, just as a movie. Your topic isn't titled "I worked on this movie and had a blast" it's "Ignore the Critics, Watch Warcraft!" and then you proceed to tell us how well it's doing in sales as if that's some kind of metric for whether or not it's worthy of our attention. It just doesn't make any sense. No mention of the story, acting, score, pacing... the things that actually matter for a viewer? Nothing in your post is relevant to the aspects of the film that a normal viewer would actually care about. Instead it's "Critics hate this film. Other people like it. A lot of people have seen it. I like it. I also worked on it. The CG's good. I worked on the CG." You don't think that's a little disingenuous?

Antropus said I went with low hopes and I really enjoyed it.

Why? What changed your mind exactly?

Antropus said 60% to 70% easy.

Based on what exactly? This means literally nothing without any sort of context. We have no indication of what you did or didn't like about it. This is what I'm talking about as far as scores. "60% to 70%" doesn't mean anything in and of itself. You obviously don't think it's a perfect film, but apparently also think it's "above average" ...but on the basis of what specifically, we have no idea.

Antropus said No way a 2.7 out of 10 like RT's "professional" critics are saying. Really unfair score.

Again...why? On what basis? What makes it so much better than the critics are saying? What criticisms are critics levying against it that are unwarranted or unfair? We don't know because you don't tell us. See what I'm saying?

Antropus said Di you watch it? Planning to?

I'm not really planning to, to be honest - I just don't have any interest in the lore or universe. I'm sure I'll see it eventually but it's not something I'm in any particular hurry to watch, because I don't find the subject matter particularly compelling. If they were to make Diablo or Starcraft adaptations, I'd be down for those though haha.

[Antropus]

Everyone is entitled to an opinion and I really don't want to spend any more time discussing why and what. It's a thread about encouraging people to watch a movie that is just plain fun entertainment, instead of relying on others to make up their own minds. You are entitled to your own opinion as well, that you made sure to exhaust over this thread that's clearly not for you, so why bother? Go outside, breath some fresh air, smell some flowers, snuggle with a puppy :)

[Zombeaver]

Antropus said Everyone is entitled to an opinion...

That's kindof my whole point. I have no idea what your opinion is on any specific elements of the film (other than the CG). You are entitled to your opinion - don't you think it'd be a good idea to actually elucidate that opinion if you're going to encourage others to see the movie?

Antropus said ...and I really don't want to spend any more time discussing why and what.

You'd have to spend any in order to spend more. All it basically comes across as is "I have a vested interest in this movie being successful. Hey guys, go help make this movie be even more successful." Alrighty then, let me just jump right on that. The fact that there's clearly an inherent bias based on your involvement honestly wouldn't even bother me if you'd actually said anything particularly substantive about the film itself; and even if it was nothing but praise.

Antropus said It's a thread about encouraging people to watch a movie that is just plain fun entertainment, instead of relying on others to make up their own minds.

Nobody should be letting reviews definitively form their opinion, but they're useful as a guide, especially if it's coming from someone whose views you know to be typically in sync with your own. Obviously everyone should form their own opinion, but the critiques of others can help inform your own examination of a film (sometimes even serving purely as a means of contrast). Sometimes totally valid points can be raised that you might not have considered.

Antropus said You are entitled to your own opinion as well, that you made sure to exhaust over this thread...

Yes? Isn't that typically for forums are used for?

Antropus said ...that's clearly not for you...

Oh, okay. Sorry, I missed that part.

Antropus said ...so why bother?

I guess because I was under the mistaken impression that I was entitled to my opinion.

Antropus said Go outside, breath some fresh air, smell some flowers, snuggle with a puppy :)

I have allergies and I'm a cat person. It's a nice thought though.

[Antropus]

From a fan over FB:

David Simon GO SEE WARCRAFT!! Warcraft was AMAZING. But do you see a hilarious trend here?? Rotten Tomatoes; 25% 112 CRITIC viewers liked Warcraft, rating is 4/10. 82% of 35,329 AUDIENCE viewers liked Warcraft, rating is 4.2/5 or 8.4/10. MetaCritic; 32/100 based on 38 CRITIC ratings, but an 8.7/10 or 87/100 based on 405 AUDIENCE ratings. IMDB; 7.8/10 based on 42,513 AUDIENCE ratings. So who's opinion is more valid?? 150 movie snobs who blast anything that isn't part of the Lord of the Rings, Jurassic Park, Star Wars, or Marvel franchises?? Or 78,247 regular movie-goers like you or me who can appreciate a good movie without having to rip it apart because it's something different!? It's clear that professional critics have a very strong bias against Warcraft. Is it because they're too stuck up to admit that Warcraft broke the curse of bad video game movies? (In fact, it isn't even a video game movie, it's based on a universe complete with books, graphic novels, short stories, animated shorts, comics, manga and more.) Is it maybe because critics, like wine snobs, think that only the most elite and cream of the crop franchises deserve good ratings? I don't know, but I learned a long time ago to not trust movie critics alone. Stop letting stuck up critics dictate what you should or should not like!! Go to a theater and see Warcraft and formulate your own opinion! Lok'tar Ogar! Victory or death! #Warcraft #WarcraftMovie #WorldOfWarcraft #Legendary

[Zombeaver]

So, not only is your rebuttal not written by you, but it spends as much time actually discussing the specifics of the film as you have; which is to say, none at all. "Warcraft was AMAZING." "Alright, cool. That's good to hear. What was amazing about it?" *spends the next 5 minutes talking about how dumb critics are with nary a syllable to refute any claims made by those critics, and nothing to say about why it's actually good* "So...what was amazing about it again?" "Critics are stupid, that's why it's amazing!" "Oh, okay." Since we're quoting other people here, here are a couple that I think are appropriate:

You are not entitled to your opinion. You are entitled to your informed opinion. No one is entitled to be ignorant. -Harlan Ellison

The essence of the independent mind lies not in what it thinks, but in how it thinks. -Christopher Hitchens

Too often we... enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought. -John F Kennedy

And here's my very own contribution:

If you cannot explicate and demonstrate the basis of your opinion, your opinion means nothing. You're welcome to spout it to your heart's content, but no one is obligated (or likely) to listen to you. -Zombeaver

If you can't justify how you've arrived at a conclusion, you haven't actually formed an opinion at all, you've simply regurgitated what you've heard elsewhere. I'm not saying you shouldn't like Warcraft, I'm saying that, if you do, you might want to take a moment to consider why you do before you start telling other people they should see it. I'd honestly love to hear it. I'm one of the most open-minded people you'll ever meet, but being open-minded does not mean you take whatever you're told for granted (that's called being gullible) - it means that you're willing to change your mind if something proves itself to be superior. Being highly opinionated and genuinely considering the validity of an opposing view are not only not mutually exclusive, I would argue they're inextricable. I realize by now you probably think I'm just picking on you or being a troll or something, but I'm not. It's because I value the opinions of the people here that I want to actually hear them. If I legitimately didn't care what you thought, I wouldn't have said anything at all. If you think Warcraft is good, that's great. If you're going to tell me that it's worthy of my time and money, I'd like to hear why (not being ironic, sarcastic, or rhetorical) because, as has been established, it's getting pretty universally shit on by critics. If they're wrong or unfair in their criticisms (you used the word "unfair" mind you), then I'm all ears as to why; but simply saying "critics hate it" doesn't add any intrinsic value to the film. If they're truly wrong, there shouldn't be any issue in refuting them. If there really are virtues to the film that aren't being taken into consideration, I'm legitimately curious to know what they are - because I haven't heard them so far (other than the CG being good).

[Antropus]

Do you REALLY think you are so incredibly important that I posted my last comment as a "rebuttal" to you????? What a stretch... My last post was simply to add some information to this thread, instead of the mess you are turning this into. Positive reviews are the VAST majority when it comes to the public who watched it. Look around. Read a little. Watch reviews on youtube. To criticize and pick apart the hard work done by others is the easiest thing to do. It's the coward thing to do. Nothing positive comes out of it. To be frank, I can't care less about your attempt to dismantle a thread that simply started out of excitement, for the experience itself and the pride that all involved felt after seeing it in the big screen and yes, you sound exactly like a troll. I was trying to share the experience with people that might have been turned off because the reviews written by a bunch of snobs. You must have a ton of free time in your hands, derailing a simple thread, feeling like I owe you an answer for every single question you might have. Guess what? Have a blast talking to yourself, because seems like you love the sound of your own voice (or your own typing). I don't owe you any explanation and I just hate when someone quotes every single phrase someone writes, just to pick apart an argument that never was. I would sincerely love to spend time going point after point and writing a complete review about why I liked the movie, but that would be with someone I believed to be worth of my time or to whom I established some level of respect with, which is not the case here. You came up with an overly aggressive tone from the get go, just making me incredibly uninterested in anything you might have to say from that point on. If you are that open minded, just know that you are terrible at starting a real, productive discussion, if that's how you approach them every time. Your tone will push people away, but maybe that's what you do in life or what you enjoy doing. It's your choice. I'll simply not spent any more time with someone who calls himself "open-minded" yet says that didn't watch it and has no interest in watching it, while demanding answers from someone who did watch and did like it. No contradiction here at all... Go on now, quote every two other words I just wrote and have a blast. This is your circus now, so don't worry, I will not interrupt your incredibly "enlightening" thought process. Fascinating thread this turned out to be. I cannot wait for the next one you hijack.