Ambitious and energetic.

Rating: 6/10 (16 June 2016)

For a long time the hype was through the roof for this fantasy blockbuster, not only as a potential Lord of the Rings successor – orcs and dwarfs and wizards (oh my!) – but also as the motion picture to break the pattern of poor computer-game adaptations. Thankfully the resolutely mediocre trailers brought expectations crashing back down to Earth, because if you enter the cinema hoping for a fantasy masterpiece you'll be sorely disappointed. Go in with more restrained anticipation and there's two hours of silly fun to be had. Unlike LOTR there's no set story to adhere to for writer-director Duncan Jones, so the narrative takes the form of an orcs-vs-humans war saga, with the (pleasantly respectable) runtime split equally between the two races. The plot is largely predictable and uninventive – undefined magic powers are lazily employed to gloss over holes – but there's a surprisingly strong focus on character development that lends the movie an emotional side and subsequently increases the stakes at play. Considering the source material, the massively multiplayer online role-playing game 'World of Warcraft', the universe isn't explored or fleshed out as much as it could have been either, with the finale frustratingly open-ended. Of course the action is priority number one though, and there are a plethora of clashes, both big and small, to get the adrenaline pumping. Despite the numerous all-in battles, it's a bone crunching one-on-one fight between two powerful orcs that is the standout. Unfortunately there's an over-reliance on CGI that detracts from proceedings; all of the orcs are created via motion-capture technology and majority of the external environments are entirely digital, feeling particularly hollow. Not the most memorable of beginnings for what will undoubtedly become an ongoing cinematic series; Warcraft is nevertheless an energetic, ambitious and successfully diverting piece of escapism.