Lacks character motivations but succeeds in creating a fantastic world of conflict

Rating: 6/10 (1 June 2016)

After several years of back and forth, the game giant Blizzard finally united and chose Duncan Jones as director and leader of their first film, Warcraft: The Beginning. It is based on the first Warcraft game from 1994. Azeroth is the world where the humans for several years have lived in peace together with the other creatures. The orcs are forced to leave their dying world Dreanor behind and travel to Azeroth to survive. The crazy orc Gul'dan lead them into battle with the help of the warcheif Blackhand. But all orcs are not impressed with their thirst for blood and their lack of respect for life. Conflicts appear in several directions. I have played these games when I was younger and I am also pretty familiar with the story because I've read some novels and facts about it.
I will start by saying that Warcraft is an incredibly good looking film. The computer made effects combined with real actors, makes for a nice contrast very fitting to the style of the film. However, the characters of the film are a bit messy. It is a lot of characters on both sides and also certain ones who hasn't chosen a side which makes it even harder to keep track on everyone. We are quickly thrown into the story without a proper background explanation which is a pity and may cause confusion before you really understand everything. I like the fact that they have chosen to focus on both sides of the conflict. It makes the battle so much more interesting when we can follow it from two angles with two perspectives.
The big weakness of the film also lies in the characters and their at times lack of development. Sometimes we are quickly cutting from one scene to another without ever really staying long enough to get to know anyone. This forces the filmmakers to use cliché dialogue to quickly make us understand what's going on. They've also added a forced love story. The thing that's really good about the film is the story itself. The conflict between the humans and the orcs who just invaded their world is very interesting. I personally really like following the orcs. They have everything to gain after leaving a dying world behind. When we follow them we also see their family situations with children and life mates. I care about them. Medivh, the guardian of Azeroth is also very interesting when he uses his magic. Warcraft is like I said, a bit messy and at times clumsy edited with strange short scenes and fading black screens. I do however like the world and the conflict itself so I forgive these blunders. It's no masterpiece but definitely an entertaining fantasy film.
David Lindahl - www.filmografen.se