Really enjoyable for both fans of the games and genre fans

Rating: 7/10 (5 August 2016)

I watched this film a couple of days ago and waited to write this review so I could reflect a bit on it.
Because when you're dealing with a film which is based on a game franchise, you have to look at things from different perspectives. The people who played the games and know what they exactly want from this film. The lore has to make sense for these people (and I have to say that for the most part it seems to be pretty accurate). And then there are the people who just want to watch an enjoyable film without having to care about the lore of the games.
So why did I give this film a 7? Because I think this is one of the better video game films to date.
Is it perfect? No. Especially not for those who absolutely don't know anything about the games and their lore.
The first part of the film has the inevitable problem of cramming in a lot of characters and lore in a relative short time. However, I have to say that the backstory is told in a very focused way so they kind of get away with it. Nevertheless the film could have used 15 more minutes to explain everything at a slower pace IMO. Don't worry though the plot is pretty clear and you won't feel left out if you don't know anything of the games.
One thing I kind of missed was build up in some places. Especially the fight scenes. You might say why do you need build up in big fight scenes. Well let me compare it to another successful fantasy franchise: Lord Of The Rings. The fights in the Lord Of The Rings films have a strong build up where the armies are facing each other. This adds to the tension and make the fights all the more epic (at least IMO).
In Warcraft you don't really have that. I personally missed that a bit, especially for the last fight scene.
I really liked the music in this film. It's excellent, no other words for it. The effects are really impressive. The Orcs look brilliant. Other effects are also well done.
Another thing I really liked was how colourful this film was. Everything from the effects to the landscapes have lots of colour which makes it really enjoyable to watch.
The plot of the film is pretty straight forward. Humans vs Orcs + an orc chieftain (Durotan) who doubts in the Orc leader Gul'dan. everything is pretty simple to follow. Don't expect a very deep story. That said the plot is delivered in a good way so it never comes over as confusing. In fact it's fairly predictable what will happen towards the end of the film.
There are no big surprises or plot twists.
The Character development is pretty well done... for the most part. Durotan and Garona are the ones that stand out for me. Others like Callan (Anduin Lothar's son) could have used a bit more development. Callan basically comes over as "I want to please my father" and that's it.
Overall the acting is well done and the build up for a next installment is there (like you would expect from it).
In conclusion I can say that I enjoyed Warcraft. I personally think critics expected too much of it. They expected the next Lord Of The Rings (which it definitely isn't) since it was directed by a very capable director. There are definitely things that could have been done better but at the end of the day, I liked it.
To end this review I will say that those who know the lore will probably give this film 7 - 8 out of 10. Which is what I would give it as well.
Those who don't know anything about the lore might give it a lower score. Something around 6,5 - 7 out of 10.
I personally recommend it to anyone who is a fan of the games and to fans of the fantasy genre.