'Warcraft' A Review

Warcraft is a fantasy movie based on the popular video game. Orc world Draenor is dying and under the leadership of corrupt sorcerer Gul'dan(Daniel Wu) the Orc horde is poised to invade lush Azeroth through a portal. Orc chieftain Durotan(Toby Kebbell) has doubts as he believes the evil fel magic is perverting his race. Human warrior Lothar(Travis Fimmel) gets wind of the invasion and along with mage flunky Khadgar(Ben Schnetzer) sets about mounting a defense.

The motion capture performances of the orcs are across the board incredible, with emotional subtleties heretofore unseen in CGI. Unfortunately the human actors don't fair as well. Fimmel as Lothar is basically a watered down version of his Vikings character who repeatedly reaches for jokes that fall flat more often than they land. Schnetzer as one of the handful of heroes is bland and distractingly modern given the film around him. Paula Patton as half-orc Garona struggles a bit with the script and prosthetic teeth but overall is decent. Ben Foster is a highlight as weary wizard Medivh who gives an appropriately over-the-top almost Cageian turn.

Unarguably visually stunning Warcraft has a lot to offer. It is grand and sweeping, with action and magic aplenty. The story isn't necessarily as strong. There is a lot of seemingly unnecessary exposition, the bloated cast makes it difficult to develop any of them individually, and the ending is only somewhat satisfying- a clear set up for a sequel. That all being said the movie is more success than failure, the attempt was entertaining even admirable, and its faults(shared with many other blockbuster franchise launchers) are negligible.

An enjoyable summer popcorn fantasy somewhat narratively lacking.

Rent It.