History YMMV / Warcraft2016

* Some of the casting choices result in weird relations between the cast, such as Lothar somehow having a biological sister that's [[ArtisticLicenceBiology an entirely different skin shade than him]], and him and Medivh (both played by actors in their mid-30s) both apparently having adult children.

* AndYouThoughtItWouldFail: A rather ''unconventional'' example of the trope, to say the least. Universal were reluctant to make the movie in the first place due to the common perception from audiences and critics that VideoGameMoviesSuck, and as such spent minimal time advertising it before it came to theaters. While they were proven right with the movie's weak $24.3 million domestic opening, [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff the film's performance overseas]] made up for that shortcoming. Of special note is China, where the movie set new records and quickly put the movie on-course to become one of the highest-grossing films Universal ever released in the region. It ended up being the highest-grossing video game movie worldwide despite its domestic failure. The greenlighting of a sequel is still far from certain, however.

* FandomEnragingMisconception: Although the movie does borrow a lot to the game's aesthetics and [[WorldBuilding world / lore building]] (due to them being obviously way more developed and recent than the RTS games) and throws in some {{Mythology Gag}}s, saying that this movie is based on ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' (the MorePopularSpinoff) will trigger a bad reaction from some fans since it's supposed to be based on the first RTS game.

* AndYouThoughtItWouldFail: A rather ''unconventional'' example of the trope, to say the least. Universal were reluctant to make the movie in the first place due to the common perception from audiences and critics that VideoGameMoviesSuck, and as such spent minimal time advertising it before it came to theaters. While they were proven right with the movie's weak $24.3 million domestic opening, [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff the film's performance overseas]] made up for that shortcoming. Of special note is China, where the movie set new records and quickly put the movie on-course to become one of the highest-grossing films Universal ever released in the region. It ended up being the highest-grossing video game movie worldwide despite its domestic failure. The greenlighting of a sequel is still far from certain.

* FandomBerserkButton: Although the movie does borrow a lot to the game's aesthetics and [[WorldBuilding world / lore building]] (due to them being obviously way more developped and recent than the RTS games) and throws in some {{Mythology Gag}}s, saying that this movie is based on ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' (the MorePopularSpinoff) will trigger a bad reaction from some fans since it's supposed to be based on the first RTS game.

** One youtuber made a video called ''"A Garbage Retrospective Of Warcraft"'' that goes over every game in the series. When talking about Warcraft 2 and onward, he calls Khadgar a "pretty shitty mage" every time the Dark Portal is opened. Then the movie comes out a few months later and, [[TookALevelInBadass for a while]], Khadgar is a "shitty mage".

* BetterThanCanon: Thanks to the movie having the foresight of twenty years of lore to draw upon, it's able to make sure that its timeline can have many of the later developments planned and worked in from the beginning instead of having to rely on retcons.
** The film changes the origins of Garona's heritage from the official lore, this time going from half-draenei to half-human again, [[spoiler: with the implication that Medivh was Garona's father.]] Though the change was controversial as per usual, many fans found this explantation to be superior than the one in game lore, citing how the Garona's heritage in the games was a subject of ContinuitySnarl with previous attempts to {{retcon}} or explain away her half-"human" status only leading to [[VoodooShark more complications]] while the movie simply implies [[spoiler: that Medivh [[AWizardDidIt travelled to Draenor through his powers]] and had an affair with an Orc woman there.]] Additionally, it also makes the [[TheScrappy fan-unfavorite Me'dan]] unlikely to appear since [[spoiler: Medivh and Garona's status as [[{{Squick}} father and daughter]] makes their original lore status as lovers [[IncestIsRelative incompatible with each other]]]].
** In the game lore, Durotan and Draka, as well as most orcs, are already green before he is born because of merely being ''around'' fel magic, making exposure to fel a bit inconsistent. Here, they are still brown, and Thrall's skin turns green as a result of Gul'dan himself breathing [[LifeDrain stolen life into him]] after delivering him because Draka's passing through the portal caused his premature birth. With this, Thrall's birth is directly tied to one of the most important events in Warcraft history, and his connection (and, [[ItWasHisSled presumably]], ideological opposition) to Gul'dan gains a personal element [[spoiler: (in addition to [[YouKilledMyFather Durotan's murder]] below)]].
** Many people like that the film version of Durotan is much more proactive in rebelling against Gul'dan. In the game lore, Durotan reluctantly goes along with almost everything the Horde does so that his clan doesn't face persecution and the one time he tried to rebel against Gul'dan, he's killed by assassins loyal to the warlock. In the movie, he is openly critical of Gul'dan and his abilities, tries to negotiate peace with King Llane and almost averts the war and [[spoiler:challenges Gul'dan to a mak'gora. And although he dies to the warlock's fel powers, he upsets Gul'dan's respect and authority in the Horde by showing everyone how much of an honorless traitor he really is]].

** Creator/{{Universal}} once had its own video game division, mainly known for ''Franchise/CrashBandicoot'' and ''Franchise/SpyroTheDragon''. Eventually, thanks to a series of buyouts and spinoffs, what had been renamed by that point Vivendi Games (including the remnants of Creator/{{Sierra}}) was absorbed into Activision in 2009. Come 2015, and Universal is distributing a movie based off Activision Blizzard's biggest franchise.

* AwesomeMusic: Music/RaminDjawadi's score for the movie is one of its stronger points. Particulary, the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uriUPxg-YVo "WarCraft"]] leitmotif.

* VisualEffectsOfAwesome: Pointed as one of the movie's saving graces. Even the most negative reviews of the movie point out the visual effects as one of the high points. Orcs, the city of Stormwind and spell effects are some of the best CGI effects put on screen in recent years.

* AndYouThoughtItWouldFail: A rather ''unconventional'' example of the trope, to say the least. Universal were reluctant to make the movie in the first place due to the common perception from audiences and critics that VideoGameMoviesSuck, and as such spent minimal time advertising it before it came to theaters. While they were proven right with the movie's weak $24.3 million domestic opening, [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff the film's performance overseas]] made up for that shortcoming. Of special note is China, where the movie set new records and quickly put the movie on-course to become one of the highest-grossing films Universal ever released in the region. It ended up being the highest-grossing video game movie worldwide despite its domestic failure.

* DullSurprise: While the orc characters express emotions in a very realistic manner (even Gul'dan's LargeHam acting only serves to portray him as a menacing and charismatic villain), the human actors attract a lot of flak for their rather bland performances by comparison.

* FandomRivalry: With ''Film/AssassinsCreed2016.'' The two fandoms clash over which will be the better video game movie. ''Wacraft'' was ultimately more financially successful.
* FantasyGhetto: Both hit hard in one way and averted in another. On one hand, some critics have dismissed it as the adaptation of a generic "fantasy game with little cinematic value" (although, oddly, others dismissed it because it wasn't close ''enough'' to fantasy they were used to, with complaints about things like American accents[[note]]Apparently, fantasy movies are supposed to use British accents[[/note]]). On the other, the crew and cast clearly embraced the movie and are seemingly proud of it, including and specially the director, Duncan Jones.

* ClicheStorm: A common criticism of the film is that it lacks the charm and soul that was put into the games it was based on, and replaces said charm with a DarkerAndEdgier plot similar to those of many other fantasy films, making it seem more depressing than exciting. Reviewers with no knowledge or gaming experience of the ''Warcraft'' universe whatsoever were quick to point this out as well.

* DullSurprise: While the orc characters express emotions in a very realistic manner despite being SerkisFolk (even Gul'dan's LargeHam acting only serves to portray him as a menacing and charismatic villain), the human actors attract a lot of flak for their bland performances by comparison.

** [[WebVideo/TheBlockbusterBuster ERod]] infamously accused this movie of ripping off ''Film/TheAvengers'' by having the plot be about a villain trying to open a portal to allows an alien army to invade the good guys. This actually was the plot of the original ''Warcraft'' game, which came out in 1994, ''decades'' before ''The Avengers'' did.

* OlderThanTheyThink: Despite being an AlternateContinuity, many of the plots points in the movie that come across as retcons were actually the original lore of the games themselves. For instance, Garona being half human was her original story in the games before being retconned into half draenei. Also, the idea that warlocks helped the orcs leave a doomed homeworld (which only started to corrupt the new one) is as old as the original [[{{VideoGame/Warcraft}} Warcraft I]] manual. Even the idea of the initial portal involving a shimmering hole in the ground was alluded to in that manual (although from the other side).

* AwesomeMusic: Ramin Djawadi's score for the movie is one of its stronger points. Particulary, the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uriUPxg-YVo "WarCraft"]] leitmotif.

* DullSurprise: While the orc characters express emotions in a very realistic manner despite being SerkisFolk (even Gul'dan's LargeHam acting only serves to portray him as a menacing and charismatic villain), the human actors attract a lot of flak for their bland performances, particularly for the roles of Medivh, Llane and arguably Lothar.

* FandomRivalry: With ''Film/AssassinsCreed2016.'' The two fandoms clash over which will be the better video game movie.

* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff: The film only grossed $24.3 million on its opening weekend in North America, but somehow managed to turn a profit thanks to overseas gross. China is especially noteworthy, considering its [[http://www.forbes.com/sites/scottmendelson/2016/06/12/box-office-warcraft-bombs-in-america-outgrosses-star-wars-in-china/#5fb795df3f45 strong opening there]], in part due to ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft''[='=]s still large presence in the country (while subscriptions in the USA and Europe have dwindled significantly in the last couple of years). Given that Legendary Pictures is now co-owned by a Chinese company, they get to keep a bigger share of the ticket sales than typical "foreign-made" movies.

** The fact the film is LiveAction. For some, making it live-action takes away much of the former charm the games have, unable to give the same feel of epicness shown through the animated roots the series comes from, and by doing so critics compared it unfavorably to the likes of ''The Lord of the Rings'', regardless of whether it was intentional or not. Others claim that the live-action and CGI bring the world to life in a new way they always dreamed of, and the performances by the actors and actresses are good enough that the movie can stand on its own.

* NewerThanTheyThink: While an adaptation of the First War (which was covered in the first RTS), almost all of the lore drawn on for this movie was established well after that game. Even the story of Khadgar, Karazhan, Moroes, and the pair that ultimately brought Medivh down comes from the novel ''The Last Guardian'', which came out shortly before Warcraft III. While the idea of the orcs having been corrupted by fel blood was introduced in Warcraft III, the idea that their skin was originally brown wasn't established until the first expansion to World of Warcraft. Many important orcs who only appear in the background have been important since Warcraft II, but did not have the designs seen in the movie until Warlords of Draenor, which was the current World of Warcraft expansion at the time of the movie's release.

* OlderThanTheyThink: Despite being an AlternateContinuity, many of the plots points in the movie that come across as retcons were actually the original lore of the games themselves. For instance, Garona being half human was her original story in the games before being retconned into half draenei. Also, the idea that warlocks helped the orcs leave a doomed homeworld (which only started to corrupt the new one) is as old as the original [[{{VideoGame/Warcraft}} Warcraft I]] manual. Even the idea of the initial portal involving a shimmering hole in the ground was mentioned in that manual.

* NewerThanTheyThink: While an adaptation of the First War (which was covered in the first RTS), almost all of the lore drawn on for this movie was established well after that game. Even the story of Medivh, Khadgar, Karazhan, Moroes, and the pair that ultimately brought Medivh down comes from the novel ''The Last Guardian'', which came out shortly before Warcraft III. While the idea of the orcs having been corrupted by fel blood was introduced in Warcraft III, the idea that their skin was originally brown wasn't established until the first expansion to World of Warcraft. Many important orcs who only appear in the background have been important since Warcraft II, but did not have the designs seen in the movie until Warlords of Draenor, which was the current World of Warcraft expansion at the time of the movie's release.

* BetterThanCanon:

* ContinuityLockout: One common criticism of the movie even by fans of the game is that it tries to pack too much lore within one movie and confuses the general movie going audience. However, it's not universal. The director has mentioned getting about equal praise from established Warcraft fans and people who were introduced to the franchise through the movie.