Review! Warcraft

Review for Warcraft (2016) Directed by Duncan Jones. Starring: Travis Fimmel, Paula Patton, and Ben Foster. IMDB says “The peaceful realm of Azeroth stands on the brink of war as its civilization faces a fearsome race of invaders: orc warriors fleeing their dying home to colonize another. ”

“For the Alliance!”

The first and only time I ever set foot in Azeroth was in the summer of 2009. Some friends had talked me into trying World of Warcraft so I signed up for the two-week trial and played for a day or three. The game seemed fun with its customizable characters and immensely rich worlds, but it wasn’t for me. Don’t get me wrong, I like RPGs (lookin at you Diablo & Elder Scrolls) and I like online multiplayer (Destiny, Rocket League) but for some reason the combination of the two in the form of WoW just didn’t grab me. When they announced a Warcraft film, I was surprised to see that Duncan Jones (Moon, Source Code) was tapped to write and direct the film and it increased my interest. But then I saw the trailers and assumed this movie would be a crock of shit. It looked so bad. But I was wrong. I liked this movie.

Warcraft is loosely based on the 1994 computer game Warcraft: Orcs & Humans and follows the stories of, well, the Orcs and humans. The Orc homeland is dying and through the help of dark magic, known as fell, the orcs opened a portal to the human world. They intend to cross over, invade Azeroth, and claim the world as their own. Ever since Lord of the Rings set the bar for fantasy films, it’s hard to create a fantasy film and not compare the two. Yeah, there are a few similarities to LOTR but outside of sweeping shots of cityscapes, Warcraft has it’s own aesthetic. The character designs, armor, weaponry, beasties, and orcs look like they were pulled straight from the game then polished up as to not look cartoony. At times it’s overwhelming because a lot of names and information is thrown at you and if you’re not well versed in the Warcraft universe, you might miss a thing or two. However, the plot structure is basic enough for you to get the gist of what is happening. The storyline is pretty cliché and there are a few forced emotional arcs, but the risks they take with the story, for me, pay off and leave you wanting more. As the film ended, I became excited for the next film. I want to see the continuing adventures of these characters and see what other races they introduce/interact with. The film gives some minor screen time to the likes of elves and dwarves, but we’ve seen those before. The film is all about the humans and orcs.

On the human side, we have some pretty standard characters. You’ve got a king, some knights/soldiers, some wizards, peasants, etc. All follow the cliché archtypes and no one really stands out. I like Ben Foster (who portrays the guardian wizard/warlock/whatever Medivh) but honestly, all of the actors are interchangeable. Travis Fimmel, Toby Kebbell, and Dominic Cooper are feel rather generic and could be easily mistaken for someone else. On the orc side, again, no performance stands out. That’s a shame because the orc character designs we have are fantastic. The CGI is pretty incredible in this film and there are so many interesting and intriguing orc designs. They all have their own personalities within their tribes and when the ban together to form the horde it’s quite impressive. I just wish those intricacies came out more in the voice work. Maybe in the next one?

The score colors by the numbers and that’s disappointing. With LOTR we had these big beautifully lush pieces that defined characters and places, but we don’t get that with Warcraft. There have been four games and countless expansions throughout the Warcraft universe and you can’t create one memorable song? C’mon. I touched on it earlier, but the effects work is staggering in this film. There are some moments where it’s hard to decipher practical and CGI and very few moments where it’s blatantly obvious. To be able to create such a vast world and then fill that world with individually unique characters is incredible. They could’ve easily created a template and copy-pasted orcs throughout the film and adjust sizes as they go, but it looks and feels like they’ve created an entire race of individual orcs and one by one added them to the film. It looks much better on the big screen than I anticipated. Don’t see this film in 3D. There were a handful of moments where the combination of CGI and 3D created this blurry effect that ruined moments of epic grandiosity.

It’s hard to believe I liked this film despite how bland it was at times. What draws me to it are the possibilities. The film takes risks and it feels like its ready to go in unexpected directions and create a universe that feels more like a premium cable series than a big comic book universe. If that’s going to happen, count me in. If you’re a fan/addict of Warcraft then you will enjoy the film. The audience erupted into applause and laughter at many moments which made me wish I was in on the joke. If you’re not a fan, there is still plenty to enjoy. The battle sequences are impressive and have a real depth to instead of being used as spectacle. It’s worth seeing a film this big on the big screen, if you see it on a smaller one, you’re doing yourself a disservice.

FTS SCORE: 67%