'Warcraft' a visual spectacle

This image released by Universal Pictures shows
characters Orc chieftain Durotan, voiced by Toby
Kebbell, left, and Orgrim, voiced by Rob Kazinsky, in
a scene from the film, "Warcraft," based on the
Blizzard Entertainment video game. (Universal
Pictures via AP)
This image released by Universal Pictures shows
characters Orc chieftain Durotan, voiced by Toby
Kebbell, left, and Orgrim, voiced by Rob Kazinsky, in
a scene from the film, "Warcraft," based on the
Blizzard Entertainment video game. (Universal
Pictures via AP)
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It can be hard to tell orcs apart at first. The fictional
giants of the "Warcraft" video game franchise all
have mean faces, protruding tusks and muscles so
massive, they make The Rock look puny.
So it may take a while for non-gamers to figure out
who's who in the battle of orcs and humans at the
center of the "Warcraft " film, which complicates an
already dense mythology. Once it becomes clear
that there's a civil war within the orc race about
whether to eliminate or align with the humans, the
big-screen adaptation from director and co-writer
Duncan Jones is a little easier to understand.
For anyone unfamiliar with the fantasy game's
characters and story lines, "Warcraft" is little more
than eye candy, a visual spectacle with a backbone
of well-trod genre tropes. There's just no way to
become as invested during a two-hour movie as a
gamer who's spent years, maybe even decades,
immersed in the rituals and traditions of the worlds
of "Warcraft."
Plus, the humanoid orcs rely on so much digital
animation to come alive that at times the whole
movie looks like a video game, which obviously
suits the material here but can still take a little
getting used to visually. (This critic's screening was
in IMAX 3-D.) And it is certainly a spectacle, with
elaborate castles, armies of angry orcs and a villain
who dramatically sucks the life from his victims,
leaving them shriveled and deformed.
Voiceover at the start of the film explains that
humans and orcs have been at war for ages. The
orc planet is dying, so they're out to colonize new
territory, which they access when their ruler,
Gul'dan (Daniel Wu), uses his powers to open a
magic portal. The escaping orc clans storm in and
kill everything. One clan leader, Durotan (Toby
Kebbell), is a rebel. He questions Gul'dan's
destructive approach and suspects he may be
relying on evil forces, which, of course, he is.
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Orcs are invading the world of Azeroth when the
leader of the humans, King Llane (Dominic Cooper),
gets word of their imminent arrival. He turns to his
top warrior, commander of Azeroth's military forces
Lothar (a smoldering Travis Fimmel), and top
wizard, Guardian Medivh (Ben Foster), controller of
Azeroth's magical powers.
They capture an orc-human hybrid, Garona (Paula
Patton wearing disturbing prosthetic teeth), who
serves as a bridge between the two species — and
instantly catches Lothar's romantic eye.
Meanwhile, young magician Khadgar (Ben
Schnetzer) endears himself to the operation when
he discovers evidence of an evil force lurking in the
human kingdom.
Containing this powerful energy is ultimately the
theme of film, as it is of so many fantasy, superhero
and sci-fi stories. It's like the Force or the Ring or
the Infinity Gauntlet or the Allspark. Only the force
in "Warcraft," called "the fell," is purely wicked, so
evil it can consume the good — perhaps an allusion
to Biblical notions of "the fall."
The "Warcraft" mythology is extensive and rich, as
it would have to be to sustain five video games and
a series of novels. That's a lot of lore to pack into
one movie, though this film is clearly set up for a
sequel should the audience demand it.
Without the franchise backstory, "Warcraft" is a
big-budget fantasy-action film with lots of large-
scale, epic fight scenes between Mr. Olympia-sized
aliens and regular humans. When an orc throws a
horse at one point, it's almost more painful than
when a character dies, since the moviegoer's
connection with the characters is so superficial.
As escapist summer fare, "Warcraft" works
because the action is ample and the orcs look cool,
with pierced tusks and spiked armor evoking a
"Mad Max" aesthetic, even if it isn't always easy to
tell them apart.
"Warcraft," a Legendary Pictures release, is rated
PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association of America
for "extended sequences of intense fantasy
violence." Running time: 123 minutes. Two stars out
of four.
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MPAA definition of PG-13: Parents strongly
cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for
children under 13.