Warcraft: The Beginning (2016) Film Review

The video game movie genre is one that's to be continually tested in 2016, with The Angry Birds Movie already proving (somehow) that there can be some in the modern era of cinema that can be a financial hit and the recent trailer for Assassin's Creed quickly lighting the internet on fire with anticipation and comments on its musical choices. But perhaps one is quite so bold and as that of Warcraft: A Beginning - a film basked in numerous lands and species of characters tied together with a director known best for his big indie start-up Moon and the factor that he's the son of the late great David Bowie. Yes, I talk of Duncan Jones; a self-proclaimed fan of the World of Warcraft online MMO that he's taken the reigns for after Sam Raimi was booted off the project and Uwe Boll was denied the chance to come anywhere near it. The film itself has had quite a long and treacherous journey to the big screen, having been announced a decade ago and being stuck in its story development for the better part of numerous years. But here we are a decade on – a big-budget Lord of the Rings-esque blockbuster with no big-name actor or director leading the charge aganst the masses of naysayers who believe that video games have no right to be good movies. But with a director like Jones in charge, surely one can live in hope?

As the film opens, it appears that that homeland of the Orc - Draenor – is on the brink of death, and its inhabitants have noticed this. As such, the mighty Gul'dan (Daniel Wu) has conceived a plan which involves the creation of a magical portal to a new world; a plan which involves the sacrifices of dozens of innocent lives. With only the strongest of Orc clans invited for the initial conquering, the species quickly attack the villages that surround the world of Azeroth – but over time the actions begin to raise questions to one such clan leader called Durotan (Toby Kebbell), who believes that Gul'dan may have his own ulterior motives. Meanwhile, on the humans' side, they face their own challenges Iin the form of said orc attacks, with numerous areas of their world made desolate, and the discovered power behind the Orc's arrival being one feared by the land's Guardian Medivh (Ben Foster). Can the humans, lead by King Llane Wrynn (Dominic Cooper) and his right-hand knight Lothar (Travis Fimmel), find victory in their new-found war? Or willmaybe a truce between orc and man be the key to saving both their worlds? 

With the opening being highly expository and quickly introducing the numerous lands that make up Azeroth – not to mention the countless characters that are present – it may be quick for some to get left behind; especially those who haven't played a game of World of Warcraft before or are barely aware of the basic premise of its world. But those lucky enough to keep up on their flying griffin will be instead less than enamoured by the rather generic story being told. Not that keeping to a safe and tested storyline is anything wrong, and it's not like there aren't any surprises to be had, but for a film based in such a wide world as that of WoW may discourage people from enlisting to viewing the planned sequels that are on the way. The majority of the film is based around the two fighting for each other's course, and only briefly actually touches upon the opportunity of a truce before things go wrong. Add a sprinkle of some interesting character development for Orc/Human hybrid Garona (Paula Patton) and the grand battles that one would expect from a movie of this design, and you have a film who's story is only really a basic backdrop for a larger world to cover up. It leads to some good moments, and the screenplay does allow for some tame comedy spread across its long 120 minute run time, but it's just a little too safe for one to expect. 

Also adding some much needed enjoyment to the fray is the basic aesthetics that make up the entire film. Whilst not every CG element is filled with quite the same wonder as, say, the sheer detail given to some of the Orc characters or the lands they surround themselves in, it is mostly up to snuff with some of the better fantasy films released this century – not Lord of the Rings level, but still quite good. Not to mention that Duncan Jones does deliver in the direction department; no shot quite reaching the level of beauty that one would hope for, but nothing that suggests jarring camera work or just plain old bad filmmaking. As his first proper foray into big budget blockbusters, it's a commendable starting point.

Travis Fimmel is the lead human here, and as Sir Anduin Lothar he does a fine job. There's nothing overly exciting to see, as he's simply a noble knight who's lost so much in the past and the present that he's willing to just do his duty as the protector of the king. The most he offers is a good rapport with Patton and young sorcerer Khadgar (Ben Schnetzer, who also offers a fine performance but is riddled a little by a destiny subplot which only kicks in about an hour into the film), which shines brightest during a camping scene midway through the picture. Cooper offers a standard regal role which is at its best by the time the final battle begins to climax; Ben Foster's constant resting does get a bit annoying over time but offers arguably the best performance out of al the fully-human characters; Ruth Negga as the Queen is given little to do; and Burkely Duffeild as Lother's son is good enough for his limited screentime. As for the Orcs, you have Toby Kebbell trying his very hardest to not have another Fant4stic on his hands with much success; Robert Kazinsky's Doomhammer filling the mandatory 'friend who questions everything' role; Wu being quite a menacing looking character but seems to be mostly set up for subsequent sequels; Anna Galvin as Durotan's wife doing what warrior wives do best; and of course Paula Patton being the best of both races. With her character showing the most promise, and being set up for a solid storyline in future films, it's quite reminiscent of that of Zoe Saldana's performance in Guardians of the Galaxy (and I don't just say that because they're both green). 

Warcraft is a meritorious film solely for being a film as good as it was, what with the numerous barriers that stands in its way. But with a large chunk of the film being more devoted to its fans than the wider audience, it may be difficult for others to be truly invested in what's planned to be a wide range of movies. They'll be invested in the visuals and maybe some of the characters, but not the basic story that they carry out or the promise that future instalments will be bigger in scale in terms of battle and story beats. For what it is, it's fine. But as a movie in it's own right, being just that in a tough film industry may make or break its future potential. 6/10.