![]() As he struggles with reigning in his overeager son Callan (Burkely Duffield), protecting the human king Llane (Dominic Cooper) and falling predictably in love with the half-orc Garona (Paula Patton), Fimmel ironically fails to deliver the humanity on display during Draka and Durotan's scenes. Fimmel's Lothar is a powerfully boring character. Things are not so good on the human side. It's a little awkward, as most viewers will still be coming to terms with the heavy CGI makeover the actors have received, but it does a good enough job humanizing these characters and introducing those unfamiliar with Warcraft to the concept that orcs are not just mindless bad guys. The film actually opens with these two lying in bed, soaking in the final moments of quiet together before the invasion begins. The closest it comes to success is with Durotan (Toby Kebbell), the noble leader of the Frostwolf clan of orcs, and his pregnant mate Draka (Anna Galvin). I wouldn't necessarily consider this a problem so much as an inevitability, except for one issue: Warcraft never really takes the time to get viewers invested in the characters. Within 10 minutes of the movie starting, it's already throwing dozens of strange character names, epic locations and other bits of terminology at you. ![]() The film fully embraces its source material, for better and worse. If there's enough high fantasy mumbo-jumbo in that last paragraph to turn you off, you should stay far away from Warcraft. Warcraft never really takes the time to get viewers invested On the human side, stoic knight Anduin Lothar (Travis Fimmel) must rally the troops to defend their capital of Stormwind as the orcish hordes threaten to overrun it. The orcs, led by the evil warlock Gul'dan (Daniel Wu), leave behind their dead planet and invade the world of Azeroth through a giant portal fueled by the blood of innocents. Though they intersect in a few important moments, each side has their own heroes, villains and plot twists. Going back to the subtitle of the 1994 original Warcraft game, the film follows two sides of a fantasy conflict: orcs and humans. ![]() ![]() But there are moments where its true potential shines through - brief glimpses of the intriguing blend of characters, plot beats and pitch-perfect high fantasy setting that have turned the original Warcraft strategy series and its massively multiplayer spinoff World of Warcraft into an internationally beloved video game franchise.Īnd the movie is all the more painful for offering those rare flashes of what should have been. Contrary to what you might believe based on the thrashing it has taken from critics, Warcraft isn't a complete trainwreck. ![]()
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