Warcraft is a 123-minute action fantasy film directed by Duncan Jones, who co-wrote it with Charles Leavitt. It stars Travis Fimmel as Commander Anduin Lothar and Toby Kebbell as Durotan, chieftain of the Frostwolf Clan. It premiered in Paris on May 24, 2016, and Universal Pictures released it in the United States on June 10, 2016.
Trailer, via Legendary.
Gul’dan’s Portal to Azeroth
The plot is a war story told from both sides. Draenor, homeworld of the orcs, is being torn apart by fel magic. The warlock Gul’dan unites the clans into the Horde and opens a portal to Azeroth by draining the life out of captive draenei.
He leads a small warband through. Durotan, his pregnant mate Draka, and his friend Orgrim Doomhammer join it. On Azeroth, Draka gives birth, and Gul’dan rescues the dying baby Go’el by draining the life out of a deer to revive him and infuse him with fel magic.
Lothar, Khadgar and Medivh
Lothar finds the trespassing mage Khadgar investigating the bodies of slain men. Khadgar notices traces of fel magic. King Llane Wrynn sends them to the stronghold Karazhan to inform Medivh, the Guardian of Tirisfal.
The scouting team follows the fel magic and is ambushed by orcs. Medivh casts a spell that kills the fel-corrupted orcs. Blackhand flees with Durotan and Orgrim. The humans take the half-orc Garona prisoner; Llane releases her in exchange for loyalty to Stormwind.
A Book in Medivh’s Library
Khadgar studies a book found in Medivh’s library and realizes Gul’dan had help from someone in Azeroth opening the portal. Durotan meets Llane secretly to unite the Frostwolf Clan and the humans against Gul’dan.
That is the film’s best idea, and it is buried under a plot that keeps introducing people instead of letting them act. The cast is enormous: Paula Patton as Garona, Ben Foster as Medivh, Dominic Cooper as King Llane, Ben Schnetzer as Khadgar, Robert Kazinsky as Orgrim, Daniel Wu as Gul’dan, Clancy Brown as Blackhand, Anna Galvin as Draka, Callum Keith Rennie as Moroes.
Two worlds. One home.
$439 Million and a $160 Million Budget
Warcraft grossed $439 million worldwide against a production budget of $160 million, becoming the highest-grossing film based on a video game at the time. It still failed to reach its break-even point of $450–500 million after global marketing and distribution.
That figure is the whole story. The film sold tickets on the strength of a game franchise, not on the strength of the film. Fans of Warcraft were kinder to it than critics were, and that split is real, but it is not an argument for the movie.
The Film the Game Deserved
Warcraft was announced in 2006 as a partnership between Legendary Pictures and Blizzard Entertainment. Ten years later it arrived as a checklist: every faction, every name, every thread of lore, and no single character given room to carry it.
The tagline promises two worlds and one home. The film never makes either feel like a place. It is a long, expensive trailer for a story it never finishes telling.
3.2 of 10.
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