Either too long or too short, and still almost perfect

Rating: 10/10 (12 June 2016)

I have given this 10 out of 10, mostly to balance the extremely negative reviews, maybe it only deserved 8/10. In my opinion, this movie is either too short, as we don't get into the characters of the movie in depth - or it is too long as we could have skipped a few sub-stories along the way, such as the romantic tension between Lothar and Gerona. The CGI was almost perfect and remained so during the entire movie. I have seen great CGI in movie and series at the beginning until the funds run out and the lower the quality of the CGI (the dragon of Game of Thrones comes to mind). The quality is consistent, and that alone earns a rating of 10/10. The CGI doesn't skip on expressions either. It remains strong and coherent. The story-line runs it course. It is neither strong or weak. It mostly carried by the weight of necessity, which is how out world works most of the time - mixed with the intricacies of deception and self deception, and the constant lure of power shortcuts and delusions of grandeur. We also get a sense of entrapment in traditions and customs, such as the orc way of tribal warfare and trials of battle and leadership, but also a human king caught in his own sense of honor and obligations to his people and his world ... with his eyes wide open although he seemed a bit dense in the beginning. The love stories were a bit forced and it is this film's greatest weakness, and it either spent too much time on it or to little. We don't get to feel anything ourselves, neither for Durotan and his mate, or Lothar and the half- orc Gerona. We don't feel the tension or the outrage or the scandal. The peaks become anti-climactic. The character gallery is huge, but that is alright. It is actually partly realistic and partly upheld by their actions, even if they do die during the course of the movie. I have been a soldier, and while I remember quite a few faces, I remember no name - but I remember all their deeds. Same goes for school, high school, university and in my line of job. A lot of faces, a lot of forgotten names, but also a huge memory for their deeds and misdeeds. It is a great movie. Go see it. It is even good in 3D. No forced objects fly out into face, but the movie give a sense of depth and shadow and light better than I have seen in other movies, maybe even including Star Wars, The Force Awakens.