If You're Willing to Give This Movie a Chance, There's a Good Fantasy Adventure Here

Rating: 8/10 (14 June 2016)

With Duncan Jones at the helm (Moon, Source Code) I was shocked at the critical thrashing this movie got when it was released. There were some less popular actors at the forefront (Travis Fimmel, Toby Kemmel, Paula Patton) but even with the theory that video game movies are cursed, this had to be the one that would break the mould. The fan reaction was conversely positive but you could just dismiss that as fans being pleased by anything. I've never really had the urge to play the game, I like fantasy stories/movies (the Lord of The Rings might be the greatest trilogy of movies ever made) so I went in open and not expecting it to go one way or another. No one will mistake this for being LOTR but there's a cool story, lots of great visual effects and some interesting action.
*Minor Spoilers Ahead* The orc homeland of Draenor is doomed. The land is dying and the orcs need to find a new home for their Orc Horde. Our orc protagonist is Durotan (Toby Kemmel), a leader of a small orc clan who is respected by his followers. His wife Draka is pregnant and he wants a better home for both his family and his clan. The orcs are reliant on Gul'dan (Daniel Wu) to find them a new home. He's an orc mage and he uses the poisonous magic "The Fell." The orcs build a gateway and fuelled by the essence of many prisoners, Gul'dan is able to use his magic to open a doorway to the kingdom of Azaroth. They only take their best warriors, they expect resistance from the inhabitants and only when they have the ability to, they will bring the rest of the Horde through.
In the kingdom of Azaroth, the commander of the military forces Anduin Lothar (Travis Fimmel) is called upon by his king Llane Wrynn (Dominic Cooper) to summon the Guardian (Ben Foster) after discovering one of their barracks have been raided in the kingdom of Azaroth. When he has checked out the barracks, he meets Khadgar (Ben Schetzer) who was apprehended trying to examine the dead bodies of the inhabitants. Khadgar is a failed mage who quit but recognizes the mark of The Fell on the bodies. It is because of this evidence, Anduin is sent to gather Medivh aka The Guardian to give advice to the king. Anduin and The Guardian are old friends and with raids happening continually, they are in need of his guidance more than ever.
I don't have any attachment to World of Warcraft. I'm not familiar with the mythology at all and I think the most experience I have with it was the South Park episode that parodied it. I say this because the buzz around this movie is that if you're a fan of the property, that's the only way you can get some enjoyment out of it. I'm writing this to dispute that claim. I'll grant you that you have to be willing to enter with an open mind because you have to wait for the movie to setup the story. You're brought into many exotic locations with exotic names. There's also many characters to be introduced to so you also have to pay attention. But if you can be patient, there's an interesting story (you also have to be into this genre of movies, if you think things like orcs fighting humans is stupid, this movie won't change your mind).
While I'm mainly going to praise this film, the acting here is a mixed bag. Certain members of the cast come across as more convincing then others. Toby Kemmel did a great job in performance capture as Durotan and Antonidas, he's becoming an authority in that area. I thought Travis Fimmel was fine and despite Ben Foster being oddly cast in his role, he pulls it off. I think Ben Schnetzer was miscast but by the end of the movie, he's more convincing. I'm a fan of Paula Patton and I was hoping this was going to be her breakout. I think she's probably got the most difficult role, her dialogue is really abrupt and I feel like a lot of the subplot between her character Garona and Fimmel's character Lothar got cut down. Anyway I wouldn't describer her performance as weak but she's not a standout either, she comes across as a little wooden at times. Dominic Cooper and Ruth Negga are fine, neither of them are particularly energetic but they do their job.
Sometimes people complain about CGI overload and too much emphasis on the visual effects. Warcraft is a movie that is elevated by the quality of its effects. The environments look great, the orcs are very impressive looking and the cinematography is always impressive. Unlike another movie I saw lately (Gods of Egypt) Warcraft also carried a big budget but this one actually spent it well and looks the part of a big fantasy blockbuster.
I've read that like Batman v Superman, the original cut that was submitted was much longer than the version showed in theatres. I think that shows, in the middle of the movie, characters change their attitudes too quickly and things develop without explanation sometimes. But I went in with low expectations and I was pleasantly surprised with Warcraft. The movie sets itself up for a sequel that I'd like to see. I don't think this will be one of my favourite movies I see this year but it's a good entry to the fantasy genre. It's not nearly as bad as it has been made out to be and I encourage you to check it out if you might be interested in it. My actual score would be 7.5/10 but I'll round up and give it an 8/10.