The Most Relatable Orcs in Hollywood – Warcraft (Movie)

The Warcraft game series has had its world expanded in many formats, and it was only a matter of time before Hollywood got its hand on the popular intellectual property. This story is more or less based on the 1994 strategy game, Warcraft: Orcs & Humans, as well as novels that have been written about that period of the world’s history. The core events are similar to previous entries, but there are some changes, probably to make the story more digestible in movie format. In the movie, orcs are looking to conquer human-controlled territories by crossing across planets with a magical portal. The focus jumps between the two sides constantly, giving us a comprehensive view of people in both camps.

I was quite familiar with the world and lore of Warcraft before the movie, having consumed multiple games and books in my youth. This affects my view of the flick, as the events in it were familiar to me before watching. I had fun recognizing characters and was often one step ahead of the narrative. I think the movie succeeds in keeping the original story and characters intact, which I appreciate. Overall, I would say that it is quite faithful to the original material while keeping things relatively approachable to wider audiences.

The story is character-focused, and luckily the main ones are entertaining to watch. Durotan, the hero of the orc side, is a very sympathetic warrior with a code of honor, questioning the savage ways of other tribes, much like his female counterpart Garona. The orc warlock Gul’dan is a hilariously evil one-note villain, true to his previous appearances. The humans, while not as interesting as Durotan, have the mages Medivh and Khadgar, as well as king Wrynn and his trusty commander, Lothar. The four work fine in the story, but I didn’t find myself rooting for the supposed heroes of the human side. I felt that the orcs carried most of the story on their backs, as it’s relatively rare to see them portrayed as anything but warmongering savages in movies. Here, they have more nuance with the main characters (and their clan) having an actual moral compass. The best moments in the story have to do with characters reconsidering their allegiances, and this adds some depth to the plot.

The main strengths of the movie for those unfamiliar with the world are its audio and visuals. The music is very warcraftian with its threatening war drums and orchestra, and fight scenes sound and look visceral.  The computer-assisted graphics create breathtaking environments, and overall, the characters look great. The war scenes can get a bit chaotic and blurry, but there are surprisingly few of them. Instead, there are many smaller conflicts that are easy for the viewer to follow.

Ultimately, the movie is still quite average. There’s not too much depth to be found in the writing, and despite the interesting orcs, the movie could be called generic fantasy. It’s an easily digestible action flick that shouldn’t offend nor excite anyone. To someone who does not know Warcraft, I doubt this movie would stand out from the genre in any way. I watched it with someone that didn’t have any personal connection to the series, and they did enjoy it despite some problems related to keeping up with different characters and their motivations.

Overall, I was entertained and would like to see more adaptations of the world as there are lots of (much more) interesting stories to tell. The movie is solid but unremarkable to non-fans and is very much dependent on the viewer’s attachment to the world.

 

Title: Warcraft

Director: Duncan Jones

Writers: Charles Leavitt, Duncan Jones

Genre: Fantasy

Available on: Streaming on Viaplay, purchasable from Google Play Movies, Microsoft Store, etc.

 

Pictures: Screenshots from the movie, taken by the author.

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