Give any self-respecting Dungeon Master (of the Dungeons and Dragons variety, not the Exxxotica type) time and a typewriter, and they’ll write a more compelling script than the one guiding Warcraft, the latest big screen adaptation of a beloved video game franchise.
Director Duncan Jones (Moon) has what most fantasy lore masters don’t, however: a $160 million budget. He throws every penny into brilliantly cartoony special effects, giving this extended video game cutscene some cheap thrills even as the story lags.
The people of Azeroth — Lord of the Rings extras led by several identically bearded white men with “noble,” i.e. English, accents — are living in relative peace before the arrival of the orc Horde, fleeing their dying planet through a portal built using some questionable labor practices, including the mystical sapping of dozens of prisoners’ souls by the warlock Gul’dan. While nobody should go so far as to call Warcraft’s politics progressive, the orcs are admirably portrayed as multifaceted characters, a well-meaning community despite their monstrous tusks and bulky frames, their affinity for a good fight and their soul-sucking evil leader. It doesn’t hurt that the motion-capture performances from the CGI orcs are better than those from the film’s flesh-and-blood human counterparts.
Before we get to the war we’re promised, there are capers involving magic, flying griffins, and so many references to fantastical places and people the movie needs a glossary for those who haven’t played the game. Jones approaches the source material with a straight face, which would work if he was adapting a series by J.R.R. Tolkien or George R.R. Martin. Something as inherently campy as Warcraft, a mish-mash of the fantasy tropes and cliches shows such as Game of Thrones take so much pleasure tearing apart, could have used a more self-aware touch.
If Warcraft gets its way at the box office, audiences will have plenty of time to learn how to properly pronounce “Khadgar” — the film is littered with set-up for future movies, and with cross-promotional references that will fly over the heads of most.
Jones demonstrates a flair for computer-generated blockbuster visuals, even if Warcraft lays it on so thick the spectacle feels almost oppressive. It’s a shame that talent (and that money!) are here being put toward a story that never rises above its video game origins.
While gamers who have already devoted countless hours to the franchise may enjoy spending another 120 minutes in the world of Warcraft, most moviegoers will be better off escaping to some more interesting dimension.
