Visually striking fantasy adventure sadly lacks the characters and narrative to be compelling

Rating: 4/10 (27 October 2016)

Following the success of his two science-fiction thrillers 'Moon' and 'Source Code', Duncan Jones has entered the realm of overabundant CGI ignited with motion capture technology; and this world happens to be a cinematic adaptation of the massively popular MMORPG (a.k.a Massive Multiplayer Online Role-playing Game) 'World of Warcraft', a game that lured in thousands upon thousands of players in a high class fantasy world through online social interaction and immersive gameplay. For many curious moviegoers and fans of the game, the question is does Duncan Jones effectively translate the popular source material to the screen, not exactly. In fact, the only aspect keeping this fantasy adventure from being a soulless disaster is the eye-dazzling CGI that brings the mythical world of life in a stunning visual treat, everything else from the characterization and the plot development is a bit of a slog. So what is this film about? It follows the story of a world called Azeroth that segregates mysterious creatures known as Orcs and humans. When a King Llane Wrynn (played by Dominic Cooper) of the human species and his brother-in-law Anduin Luther (played by Travis Fimmil) learn about a portal between the two realms is opened up by Orc warlock named Gul'Dan (played by (played by Daniel Wu) which leads to an attack against their realm by Orc warrior Duraton (played by Toby Kebbell), the two divided species engage in an all-out war, while each species questions the loyalties of their comrades.
This film adaptation of the online computer game of the same name appears to going for another 'Lords of The Rings' knockoff, but without the substance and spirit uprooted from J.R.R Tolkien's source material. Furthermore, this fantasy action vehicle ends up being nowhere near the exciting fantasy spectacle its intended to be. Though it shines beautifully the visual effects department with the use of motion technology and CGI that supplements both the mythical Orc creatures and the magical world of Azeroth into a visually stunning paradise, the film squanders its source material on the charmless, unsatisfying adventure with a sorely inept script. The film proceeds with a premise of an escalating rivalry between the Orcs and the humans that eventually boils up when Gul'Dan, an Orc warlord opens up a portal to blast open the boundaries between these nations, but before long the plot ceases to make sense. The story hits us with so many twists and turns, it turns the plot into a complete jumbled mess; and the lack of any interesting characters certainly don't do it much justice. Throughout the picture, we are introduced to cookie-cutter characters who are so underdeveloped its difficult to even remember their names, except for those who are avid fans of the game franchise. And to make matters worse, the performances by the cast aren't very compelling either. Though the hack-and-slash battle sequences are somewhat exciting in style of execution and cinematography by Simon Duggan, particularly the over-head shot of the character flying down on the back of an eagle; there isn't a whole lot of charm to be delivered here.
Warcraft is sad fantasy adventure wastes its potential on an unfortunate lack of compelling characters and narrative, though not without a little excitement from the tasty action set pieces. For those who are fans of the game series, there may be some silver lining to be found beneath the poor writing especially as fans are likely more familiar with the source material. Everyone else are most likely in for a disappointment, if not a disaster.