Concerning Ultramarine Blue: The Movie

It's been a while. They took their time. Now it's irreversibly here. A release date is set. Final trailer is out on the tubes. Preorders are open. No turning back now, GW. No way to chicken out on this anymore. No "BloodQuest"-type of disaster. We have our very first 40k movie, and the expected lot of inevitable fandom drama / internet lulz in tow. Good times.

Oh, it's about Space Marines. Quel surprise, mes amies.

You absolutely can't help having an opinion on this project if you're into the 40k fandom as deep as I am, so let me make a prolonged statement on mine, and my decision to preorder the special edition despite serious doubts.

1. I'm glad it came to pass. Really. Remeber BloodQuest? Remember the theories and semi-facts about the Blizzard connection? All the rumors spread over years of failed cinematic plans? Yeah. Now us fans have our cake and the chance to eat it, too. I'm not saying that the cake is bound to be tasty. It may taste revolting. I'm just saying that it's finally here and confirms the very existence of cake to the wide public. 


2. I think they gave it their best shot. In terms of creative direction, voice talent casting, choice of studio, and financing. I feel that lots and lots of fans are so deep into the world of GW fandom that they get a picture of a international megacorporation. GW ain't. They're just the biggest, most established contender in a very, very niche market. They don't have millions of GBP do waste. That movie is a risk, in contrast to the toys they produce, and know that will sell. They had to find a balance while keeping their target group in mind. A balance between driving their business into the ground by investing too much into an experiment, and satisfying the fans. I think they considered their options well, and made an educated choice.



3. Yes, I am disappointed by the quality of animation in the trailers. No, I'm not gonna say "it could be worse, eat it up", although it could indeed be far worse. I'm a sucker for visuals. I expected something in line with the DoW/Space Marine video game cutscenes. But creating an entire feature-lenght film is worlds apart from minute-long video game intros. I still firmly believe into the power of a good story over its looks. Alas, I won't judge based on YouTube low-res trailers. I'll give it a shot and the benefit of doubt, enjoy it on my TV screen, where I judge other movies. It deserves nothing less.



4. I am seriously, seriously glad that they didn't sell out to any Hollywood studio in order to see a big budget mainstream movie done. May I remind you that the Warhammer 40.000 universe is not mass appeal friendly? That it would be turned and twisted to no ends in order to appeal to studio mentality? PG-13, with a green message, a love story, and possible waving american flags, anyone? Imagine that for a second. How many adaptions of geek favorites have you seen that actually satisfied you? How many were utter, steamlined garbage? What would the chances be for a setting as extremist and brutal, as hopeless and dark, as 40k's? I'm glad that GW went down the road of complete creative control.



5. Finally, I'd rather like to see it succeed than fail. Really. Even if it's not exactly what we all were hoping for. You know- GW does see what we want from a 40k movie. Ridiculous production values would be the price of most of those fan's wet dreams. And they'll never, ever gonna fund something really, really big if even smaller, less risky experiments like this fail. Do I try to tell you that you should buy a potentially inferior product for a steep price just to support your favorite company and wargmaing background and immerse yourself in it?
   
   Take a deep breath. And then, tell me that you buy GW's stuff because its impartially (!) the best stuff out there in terms of ruleset, quality, and fair pricing.
   
   I for my part endure a lot of GWs antics because I'm a fan. As simple as that. That's also why I'll buy the movie, give it the benefit of the doubt, the same chance on the same TV and DVD player where I watch other movies I bought, and approach it with an open mind, while supporting this experiment of my wargaming company of choice.

And that's about it.
Ithmaril out.

Also, I'm a sucker for Special Editions.