Warcraft tells the story of a clash between humans and orcs that occurs when the orcs invade the former’s world, Azeroth. The focus is on two mains heroes, Lothar and Durotan, their role in the fight, their beliefs and their following.
Travis Fimmel is the man portraying Lothar, and as he gives a very believable and multidimensional performance as the centre character in the film. He shows his dramatic acting chops and also his more humorous side, and he does it very well. Especially considering how everything around him is so CGI focused. Toby Kebbell plays Durotan and through the incredible motion captured used to transform him into an orc, he gives a superb performance, depicting the emotion and drive that his character possesses.
Duncan Jones did a remarkable job with his directing in this huge production. He kept it very true to the style of the games and whilst not going overboard with the nods to the video games, he paid homage to them wisely at the right moments. The scope is massive in the film, yet it stays grounded at all times and never seems to get out of reach with anything. The script is solid and simple and so it should as this is the movie that sets up the story that follows. Hopefully we see that story unfold on the big screen.
The VFX by Industrial Light and Magic, is absolutely stunning and although on one hand it looks non-realistic, on the other, it is spot on and stays true to the source and very much captures the feeling and vibe of Azeroth. The Orcs are very well captured on screen and specifically Guldan; the work by the VFX team is very impressive and really catches the eye.
The Production Design, makeup, costumes are all of top quality as well, with the armor and weapons for the humans looking absolutely stunning (the war room/armory looks amazing).
Warcraft is a film that sets up the world of Warcraft (no pun intended) with drive and purpose and gives the fans the movie that they were waiting for.
7.5/10