Review of Warcraft (2016) by Usagisennin — 12 Jun 2016

Duncan Jones attempts to weave an impressive spell, but the conjugation's complexity sometimes gets the better of him.

Movies based on video games don't have a great track record. Most are terrible, a few slip into entertaning, very few rise to the level of "good," none are "great." Budding director Duncan Jones apparently saw that mountain and said, "I'mma climb dat!" With dedication, focus, and heart he and his production team nearly reach the summit.

Based upon 1994's Warcraft: Orcs & Humans, Warcraft drops us directly and unapologeticly into the Orc invasion of Azeroth. Lead by the clearly evil and power-hungry sociopath Gul'Dan and his appointed Warchief Blackhand a large Orc warband travels to Azeroth to establish a foothold and open a larger and more stable portal so that their entire race may escape the dying world of Dreanor. The humans on the other side of that portal don't take kindly to being murdered by aliens or used for Fel fuel, and initiate an immediate military response.

The plot is simple enough to follow, and that's perfect for a fantasy setting that many will be engaging with for the first time. Where the stumbles happen is with the characters that actually have to carry the plot.

Nearly everything on the Orc side is amazing. Visually its the best use of CGI in the history of cinema, sometimes you can get lost enough to forget its CG. The tense personal and political struggles of Durotan and Draka feels really grounded and tense. Durotan doesn't agree with violently conquering an new world and he clearly has issues with Gul'dan's unabashed evil and lack of any scruples. However if he doesn't toe the line then he, his family, and his entire clan are going to be slaughtered. The constant political dance, small tender family moments, and hidden machinations and maneuvers are strong elements and very good cinema. If the whole movie was as strong as these scenes then I suspect the critics would have been much kinder.

The human side is, unfortunately, much more meandering. While on the Orc side you have only 6 key orcs (Durotan, Draka, Ogrim, Garona, Gul'dan, Blackhand) to pay attention to there are nearly a dozen humans that vie for attention and screen time. Unfortunately this reduces many of the humans to mere plot devices, as if every scene that was supposed to make us care got cut down to only the bare motivations. The young wizard Khadgar is a delight on screen singularly encapsulating both the serious and irreverent side of the Warcraft universe. Medivh, the older and much more powerful Wizard, is clearly gripping with a mental illness and struggling to hold himself together and it can be an uncomfortable duality. Lothar is a passable warrior, but aside from some brief shining moments, an unfortunately dull character. Garona was a strong female character and usually delightful on screen, however when she spoke in halting broken English after first meeting the humans it felt really offputting (yes your foreign we got that with the green skin and the tusks, stop hurting my ears!) That's not to mention the other characters that just glide in and out of the film.

The pacing of the film suffers from both its run time and its breadth. In an effort to keep the story moving many characters don't get a chance to breath and show us why we should attach to them. Paradoxically, the need for world building and squeal fuel lead to some otherwise unnecessary sequences. There were many scenes that could have been stripped out or paired down. The small section in Ironforge at the beginning, and the whole scene at Dalaran were pure fan service that really contributed nothing storywise. In fact at Dalaran Khadgar gets advised: What are you doing here?! You know what to do already. (Also: Alodi, because apparently there isn't enough esoteric lore in this movie).

The battle scenes were few, but great. Most importantly everything that was going on was clear. I was ready to knock the cosplay design of the human armor, but goddamnit it works so well to keep the battles easy to read.

So, why the high score? Simple, most of the problems amount to quibbles. I thoroughly enjoyed this film, and I can't help but think if Jones were given a longer runtime (3hrs.) he could have made the broad fantasy epic he was clearly aiming for, or if he was constrained more (90min) he would have cut out a lot and really focused on the core characters, playing to his strengths.

Will you like it?

If you're a fan of Warcraft: its a must see, just go and buy your ticket.

If you're a fan of high-fantasy: It will prove to be an enjoyable time. Although you may find yourself on Wowpedia looking things up, or bugging a friend that's already versed in Warcraft lore for some fleshing out.

If your not a fan of Warcraft or fantasy: Its going to be a crapshoot. If you can not worry about all the proper nouns and just take it in you may enjoy it without it being memorable. Otherwise you may wish to skip it.