The purported bad CGI in the Warcraft teaser (to the trailer, of the movie)

The internet, or at least our corner of it, is ablaze since the Warcraft movie teaser (to the trailer, of the movie) was released yesterday. Some folks are quite disappointed in the CGI effects of the film, and are pointing to the above shot of Stormwind, also reproduced below in greater detail.

Is this bad CGI? I don’t think so, personally. It’s probably not the best looking part of the teaser (to the trailer, of the movie), granted, but we have no idea what’s going on, nor do we know anything about the environment surrounding it. If the sun is just rising and hitting white brick, then yes — this is how it’d look. And given the characters are standing around all regal and everything, that’s probably exactly what’s going on. Have you ever been to Washington, D.C. or any other place with large marble and concrete structures? They can take on totally different looks when hit with the right light.

This idea of “bad CGI” is also probably just the typical echo chamber effect, as well; the community, as a whole, attaches to something and then goes with it, for better or worse. For proof of this you just need to look outside the WoW forums and sites and look at what others though of the Warcraft teaser (to the trailer, of the movie). i09 proclaimed yesterday “This 15-Second Warcraft Movie Teaser Will Be the Best 15 Seconds You Spend All Day.” GameSpot’s headline was “Check Out Thrilling New Warcraft Movie Teaser.” ScreenCrush says “…there’s some pretty impressive stuff going on in this teaser.” The Next Web lead with “The ‘Warcraft’ movie teaser manages to amaze in just 15 seconds,” and Mashable said “First ‘Warcraft’ movie teaser trailer promises plenty of action in 15 seconds.” None of these more mainstream sites, which regularly critique and review film and TV, are complaining about the CGI.

To put things in perspective even more, look at what truly bad CGI looks like, from The Mummy Returns in 2001:

And finally, remember, this is just the Warcraft teaser. To the trailer. Of the movie. Don’t judge a movie by a single frame, especially one that isn’t even out for another seven months. The effects on these kinds of movies are worked on right up until release; a lot will change in that CGI scene in seven months.