7. Make-Up Over CGI
The point carries over to the make-up effects, as well; take Peter Jackson's The Hobbit, a gorgeous looking film by most accounts, if one that absolutely relies far too much on CGI, particularly with relation to the creatures. The Lord of the Rings films featured Orcs that were actors in make-up, and where necessary, their presence was accentuated by CGI, but in The Hobbit, the vast majority of the Orcs and other creatures were almost entirely CGI, less reflecting an advancement in technlogy and more a change in filmmaker attitudes over the last few years, that pawning the work off to a render farm is quicker, easier and less costly than, you know, actually factoring the human element into it. With Warcraft's wondrous creatures of many kinds, it's important that Duncan Jones employs actors for the roles rather than CGI puppets; like the location work, by all means meld make-up with more complex visual effects, but just ensure that there is a balance between the two. Don't give us cold, dead, CGI eyes; give us a guy wearing red contact lenses with some CGI flare added.