Warcraft is a gaming franchise created by Blizzard Entertainment. The franchise began in 1994 with 'Warcraft: Orcs and Humans' and slowly built a loyal following thanks to 'Warcraft II' (1995) and 'Warcraft III' (2002).
In 2004, Blizzard launched 'World of Warcraft', a massive, online multi-player game in which players from around the world could log in and go on 'raids' together. The game exploded in popularity, and soon transformed into a fixture of pop culture. A movie based on the game has long been on the cards.
So far, movies based on video games have been unwatchable messes. 'Warcraft' is the grandest attempt yet, and in a way, its success will give definite proof on whether movies based on video games work or not. Warcraft tells the story of the initial encounter between the Orcs and Humans in the fantasy realm of Azeroth.
The Orcs are a giant, animalistic, tribal species whose homeworld is dying. A green-skinned shaman named Gul'dan unites the Orcs into a Horde and leads them in an invasion of Azeroth through a mysterious portal, powered by dark magic and living beings.
Stunned by the invasion, the inhabitants of Azeroth - Humans, Dwarfs and Elves - unite under an Alliance and turn to the Guardian, a powerful mage who is the protector of the realm, to resist the invasion.
But there are doubters on both sides. Among the Orcs, Durotan (Toby Kebbell), the chieftain of the Frostwolf clan, begins to doubt if the horrific price that Gul'dan's dark magic demands is worth it. Among the humans, a mage named Khadgar (Ben Schnetzer) and Sir Anduin Lothar (Travis Fimmel), the army commander of Stormwind, suspect darker forces manipulating the Alliance's champions.
Their intertwined journey forms the rest of the film, along with a lot of action, several sub-plots and some breath-taking visuals.
The special effects are truly spectacular. The massive Orcs, who are completely CGI, have been crafted perfectly, allowing the personalities and expressions of the motion-capture actors to come through well. The humans, with their fantastic armours, look like game paintings come alive. The lush world of Azeroth is also beautifully displayed.
One of the hardest aspects to bring to the screen is magic since it's hard to blend glowing lights into a live-action picture. But Warcraft does it perfectly. The same goes for the action as well. Orcs - who are bigger than men on horses - crush the smaller-sized men into a pulp - armour and all. You can almost feel the bones snap.
But visuals apart, the film has plenty of cracks. To begin with, though the actors do an excellent job of adding depth, the story is simply too shallow. You never feel all invested in this world or the fate of the characters. The editing is also jarring. Clearly the movie is meant to be three hours long, and entire scenes are missing in the theatrical cut causes breaks in the narrative.
Fan service also slows the film down. Close to a third of the scenes are simply one or two-minute establishing shots. They don't add anything to the plot and only have value to fans who recognise them as call-backs to the games.
While aiming for the scale of Lord of the Rings, Warcraft falls significantly short of those lofty goals. But fans and casual viewers will get their money's worth. But be warned, an interest in fantasy is a must to enjoy the viewing. There is little else in the film otherwise.
