(Photo Credit: Universal Pictures)
Will Not Resonate Outside Gaming Community
The movie “Warcraft” is based on the video game series and novels set in the world of Azeroth between the humans and the Orcs, which are green-skinned muscular humanoids with large tusk-like fangs protruding from the lower jaw of their mouths.
In the beginning of the movie, audiences are introduced to the two main characters of Orcs, Durotan (portrayed by Toby Kebbell) chieftain of the Frostwolf Clan and his pregnant mate Draka.
Unless moviegoers are fans of the “Warcraft” series, they will be lost in the beginning of the movie until Durotan starts to give a narrative as to what is happening.
Although there is some explanation as to why the Orcs and the Orges have traveled through a portal to the planet Azeroth, (their planet Draenor is dying) regular moviegoers who are not familiar with the “Warcraft” video game will be quite lost throughout the film.
Along with Toby Kebbell, “Warcraft” features some of Hollywood’s biggest heavy hitters like Travis Fimmel, (known for his high-profile Calvin Klein campaign) who portrays Sir Andun Lothar, a knight who will stop at nothing to protect the Kingdom Stormwind and keep its King Llane Wrynn (Dominic Cooper, “Captain America: The First Avenger”) safe.
Paula Patton portrayed the most recognizable, surprising and somewhat disappointing role.
Patton has held her own in lead roles such as “Jumping the Broom” (2011), “Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol” (2011) and “Baggage Claim” (2013).
But in “Warcraft,” Patton plays the character Garona Halforcen, a strong-willed Orc-Draenei survivor caught between the Alliance and the Horde.
Although she is half-human and half-Orc, Garona is treated as an outcast and faces much abuse from the Orcs starting with her mother being killed for giving birth to a half-breed.
Despite the mistreatment from the Orcs, Garona struggles with where her true loyalty lies.
The only thing that made Garona separate from the humans was the fangs/mouthpiece protruding from her lower jaw.
Unlike the video game, she was not green, her body was not ripped and she was not vicious.
Not to take anything away from Patton’s craft as an actress, but they should have cast a stronger actress or at least committed to the character by adding more to Patton than just some fangs at the bottom of her mouth.
It was like she decided to go trick-or-treating as a laid back Garona as not to scare the kiddos instead of committing to a major role in a movie.
Once the Orcs enter land on Azeroth through the portal, they attack the humans under the leadership of a green-skinned Orc named Gul’dan (Daniel Wu) who unites the “orcish” clans into an army called the Horde.
Gul’dan collects the humans to drain their life force in order to feed the fel, a strange magic, which keeps the portal open.
Soon word gets back to King Llane who calls together War Council with the other kingdoms on Azeroth to come up with a strategy to defeat the Horde.
After refusing to come together, King Llane calls on The Guardian Medivh (Ben Foster).
As the movie progresses, it is soon discovered that they have been invited to come through the portal by Medivh who has been possessed by the fel.
Therein lays “Warcraft,” a storyline full of deceit, a continued battle of good versus evil and a love intertwined amongst the war.
Unless you are a “Warcraft” fan, you will be lost trying to connect the storyline as to why things are happening.
The computer-generated imagery, (CGI) in the movie is fascinating and can be compared to that of “The Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit.”
However, the story seemed to drag on and is definitely set up for the next two films to follow in the series.
REGAL RATINGS
FOUR CROWNS=EXCELLENT
THREE CROWNS=GOOD
TWO CROWNS=AVERAGE
ONE CROWN=POOR
