Popular video game gets the big screen treatment
|||WARCRAFT
DIRECTOR: Duncan Jones
CAST: Ben Foster, Paula Patton, Travis Fimmel; Ben Schnetzer
Running Time: 124mins
CLASSIFICATION: 10 -12 PGV
RATING: 3 stars (out of 5)
Paul Eksteen
BASED on a series of very popular video games, Warcraft doesn’t play when it comes to the action. There are warriors spread out as far as the eye can CGI, hulking orcs and husky knights, for ever primed to duke it out in fantasy badlands.
The weaponry, ornate and medieval, is largely attuned to the ego of battle: a kind of bloodthirsty chivalry. The old boxing adage that styles make fights rings true: the nimble-footed, imaginative fencing of the human combatants versus the uncomplicated brawn of the orcs makes for an intriguing contrast.
In and around these mortal enemies swoops the camera, drunk on the chaos, revelling in the beauty and the brutality. In the background, the spectre of dark magic looms large. What’s it all about? Not that much, really.
Gamers rarely need an in-depth motivation to get their licks in, so long as the going is good. Warcraft stays faithful to that spirit, rushing through a one-dimensional plot that touches on notions of honour and destiny that only seems to irritate the itch to fight. It is largely because of this that those who have never played Warcraft needn’t worry about understanding the film.
The world of Draenor, home to the orcs, is dying. For their salvation, a green-skinned shaman named Gul’dan unites the orc clans and leads an expeditionary force through a magical portal in search of more fertile pastures.
The portal feeds on the life force of living beings and the ultimate strategy rests on the orcs capturing enough prisoners to reopen it and let the rest of the horde through. Among those stepping into the unknown is Durotan, chieftain of the Wolfblood clan, his pregnant mate Draka, and a half-orc slave Garona (Patton), who will later play a decisive role in the climax of Warcraft.
The new world, Azeroth, is a lush kingdom of crystal-clear rivers and architectural wonder. It is defended by a rickety coalition of elves, dwarfs, humans and the fabled guardian Medhiv, an archmage in the grips of a corrupting magic called the Fel. Azeroth seems ripe for the taking. With Gul’dan using the Fel to his advantage, the orcs plunder at will until they meet their match in Lothar, a warrior of considerable skill, and Khadgar, a rookie mage on the cusp of greatness. With a stalemate seemingly on the cards, it takes a mutiny in the orc ranks to tilt the battle in the favour of righteousness. Durotan realises that the Fel is responsible for the destruction of his homeland. He leads a rebellion that exacts a heavy toll, but saves the life of his newborn son. Khadgar, and Lothar in turn, must weed out the true enemy in their midst before they can hope to combat the orc advance. And Garona, freed and fighting under the Azeroth banner, faces an unenviable choice with the conflict on a knife-edge.
In Warcraft’s opening scene – a gladiatorial bout shorn of context – and its conclusion, lies a strong hint that the fight is far from finished. This franchise itself is like a portal to new adventures where the action is for ever open-ended, and fresh personalities and intrigue lie in wait. So far, this video game epic is pushing the right buttons.
If you liked Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit you will like this.