Review: Warcraft Looks and Sounds Great But it’s a Little More Rushed Than it Should Be.
- Jan 5, 2017
- 3 min read
Warcraft, based on the game series, is directed by Duncan Jones, son of the late David Bowie. This is his third film, following the excellent, if overlooked, Moon and Source Code. It attempts to tell two stories, one of an invading force of orcs and the other of the humans that are trying to defend their home. The story and characters are worthy of a Lord of the Rings style trilogy but is instead crammed into a two hour film and for this, it suffers.
Durotan (Toby Kebbell), leader of the Frostwolf Clan, travels through a portal opened by fellow orc, Gul’dan (Daniel Wu). We then meet Lothar (Travis Fimmel) and King Llane (Dominic Cooper) along with a number of other characters and mentions of a number of other players yet to arrive, and that’s before the fifteen minute mark. To say the film continues in this manner would an understatement. Already we have witnessed seven different locations, three races and half a dozen characters as well as numerous creatures and bits of lore. Warcraft is packed with content and a lot of it feels rushed, concepts needed to kick start a franchise bigger than Lord of the Rings, all in a single film.
The orcs are easily the best characters, often having moments that juxtapose their hulking figures as they speak as friends and families. It is most interesting to see a race, more often than not portrayed as mindless killers, as an actual people, humanising them in an unexpected way. They possess far more depth than any of the human characters who, while not completely pointless, are far less interesting due to their stereotypical nature.
But, outside of the rushed characters and story we do get to see some incredible visuals. The orcs are easily the best looking digital fantasy creatures to ever grace the silver screen, looking almost photo-real at times and avoiding much of the uncanny valley. From the muscles rippling beneath their skin to the individual hairs that cover them, they really are something else. The motion capture at work is better than anything else and blends seamlessly with the human characters and physical sets. The effects for the various types of magic are equally stunning, like nothing I’ve seen before. It’s bright and vibrant and looks great in action, especially on a larger scale.
The action is also on another level with a duel between two of the orcs being a standout moment. The hits are meaty and the combat palpable, again a testament to the hard work of the VFX crew. As orcs and humans wage war it is difficult to fault the movie. It has a suitably epic score that elevates the fight scenes and displays what is undeniably the best fantasy war scenes since Lord of the Rings. It’s about as brutal as it can get away with it’s given rating and is worth the watch for these scenes alone.
While Warcraft is plagued by storytelling and character issues, that is to say, there’s far too much of it for a single film, it is, at its heart, entertaining. The action is fun, the characters, though not the most original, are good enough and it has some genuinely excellent moments when concerning the orcs. I for one hope it gets a sequel as the world is more than interesting enough to warrant one. It’s an enjoyable film if you can get past the issues.
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