Warcraft (2016)

I have never in my life played the 'Warcraft' or 'World of Warcraft'-games, so I have no idea whether this adaptation is faithful to the source material or not. Actually, maybe that's for the best. I know how rabid a certain segment of fandom can be and that is not going to make things easier.

But I like this film.

You know why I like this one? Because for a gameseries with such extensive lore and so many characters and locations and whatnot, I could actually follow this story. Props to director Duncan Jones, who still has to juggle quite a lot of characters and keep it all clear and concise. Sure, left and right it becomes a little muddled, but that was to be expected. But in the long run, the story on display here is fairly easy to follow.

The Orc homeworld is dying, and they emigrate to the world of Azeroth through a magic portal, summoned by their leader/magician Gul'Dan. He uses the lifeforce of others to use his magic, instantly making him a rotten bastard. I get that desperate people do desperate things, but that he still does it when the Orcs reach the verdant Azeroth makes him a douche. But that is okay, because he is. Not all the Orcs agree with this. There is Durotan, leader of the Frostwolves, who knows that what they are doing is wrong. He seeks the aid of the humans in order to overthrow Gul'Dan, but there is more afoot than anyone realizes...

I don't like to spoil it any further, even though the 'twist' is fairly obvious from the get-go, especially if you watch films on a regular basis.

The CGI for the Orcs is pretty impressive. Sure, you know they're not really there, but I like the fact that they all have a distinct look and I really like the design as well. I know they are closely modelled after the designs set forth by gamedeveloper Blizzard, but still: they look believable. Also, the costume and set design on this film is great. It's a magical place with varied locations and everything blends nicely together in what is - in essence - a cool fantasy film. Sure, it's a lot of characters and several you won't give a shit about, but I really liked Durotan. I wish the film was all about him and didn'n intercut to the humans, because they are clearly the weakest characters on display.

Oh, and don't get me started on the stilted character of Garona. I mean, obvious halfbreed love interest is obvious.

It's a shame this one never got a sequel to date. I really would like to have seen more of this world and vision, but alas. That also means that this one sets up a sequel at the end we're likely never to get.

Too bad.