8 Awful Video Game Movies That Got The Most Important Thing Right

4. Warcraft - The Beauty Of Azeroth

Tomb Raider
Universal Pictures

It may have been dragged down by too many characters, bulky dialogue, and a paper-thin, overstretched plot, but one of the few scarce positives about Duncan Jones’ big-budget Warcraft adaptation was the world of Azeroth.

The movie had so many things wrong with it, yet the majority of the landscapes and certain of the film’s characters look fantastic. Well, apart from the elves. They looked horrendous. Like, really, really awful.

Forget adapting a video game, though, for this felt more like a vibrant, otherworldly comic book brought to life – such was the energy and style given to the picture.

Of course, returning to the original point, there’s just very else in Warcraft that is actually salvageable.

This film really was such a massive shame, for with such a great director, impressive core ensemble heading up the cast, and a reported budget of $160 million, hopes were high that Warcraft would be a hit and that this would be the launching point for a new cinematic franchise.

Sadly, despite a decent box office return - $430 million – the response of both fans and critics alike for Warcraft marked it down as a dud. But still, the corners of Azeroth looked marvellous!

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Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.