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It’s probably only fair to disclose that I’ve never played the World of Warcraft games from Blizzard Entertainment, and if I’m being completely honest I only have a passing familiarity with that subject matter. But hey, just about everyone out there knows someone who was practically addicted to playing it, sometimes to an unhealthy degree. The history of video game film adaptations is usually more miss than hit, but this may also be one of the most impressive attempts we’ve seen yet. Directed by Duncan Jones (MOON, SOURCE CODE), it’s also his biggest budget and most ambitious film to date.

The story follows how the peaceful realm of Azeroth, led by King Llane Wrynn (Dominic Cooper), stands on the brink of war as its civilization faces fearsome orc warriors fleeing their dying home to colonize another. Wrynn is protected by mystical master Medivh (Ben Foster), a determined warrior Anduin Lothar (Travis Fimmel), and a young wizard named Khadgar (Ben Schnetzer). Among the orcs is Durotan (Toby Kebbell), who has a mate with child, and doesn’t seem to see the need for the war with humans. The orcs are led (rather forcefully) by Gul’dan (Daniel Wu), who uses dark magic to control his armies and give him an advantage against any in his way. Getting captured in the mix is half human/half orc Garona (Paula Patton), who seems to have no set loyalty for either side. As a portal opens to connect the two worlds, one army faces destruction and the other faces extinction. From opposing sides, two heroes are set on a collision course that will decide the fate of their family, their people, and their home… but only if they survive incredible odds.

WARCRAFT makes heavy use of CGI and digital backgrounds, immersing the audience in the mythical world these characters inhabit, and it’s interesting to see how well it works at times. I found myself on more than one occasion forgetting that most (and in some cases all) of what I was watching on screen wasn’t even real. The interaction between the human and CGI characters is fairly flawless and at times brutal, taking down the barriers of this sort of epic fantasy exercise. Even THE LORD OF THE RINGS franchise had its awkward moments where the technology just wasn’t quite where it needed to be to convince the audience, but WARCRAFT takes us closer to fantasy realism than we’ve ever been before. Visually, it is one of the most stunning movies to ever grace the silver screen. Duncan Jones should be commended for his ability to bring all of these fantastical elements together so cohesively, and really capturing the scope and grandeur of the source material.

All that said, the end result isn’t everything it feels like it could be, which may be the result of a considerable amount of film being cut for the final release. Certain moments are epic and incredible, where others feel truncated and slightly rushed. The first half can at times be a little talky, but once the second half kicks in things get pretty incredible right up to the end. One thing Jones excels at is capturing the intensity and power behind every sword strike and body blow, really delivering the impact the way it looks in those flashy video games. There’s also some fun nods to the gamer crowd, including a not-so-subtle role-playing game board of sorts right inside the king’s castle, meant as a strategy map for the soldiers to plot their attack with – seeing something that looked like it came right out of a comic book and gaming store on the big screen in an epic film like this gave me a nice inner chuckle. Some of WARCRAFT may be a little too meta for the average moviegoer to appreciate, but the right crowd should find it to be rather generous for fans of the games.

All of the actors and voice/motion capture performers seem to be giving 110%, which is not surprising with a strong director like Jones at the helm. The sincerity of those performances actually helps elevate the material, so even scenes that might otherwise come across as weak actually feel powerful. Travis Fimmel is the strongest of the live action performers, but Paula Patton is also quite impressive as Garona… and strangely beautiful in her exotic and heavy make-up. It’s also fun seeing the chameleon-like Dominic Cooper playing a regal king who isn’t afraid of battle – the constantly-impressive actor is a welcome treat in this grand production. Even Ben Foster finds a way to bring some haunting humanity to his otherwise stoic wizard role. One thing that really impressed me and at times surprised me was how certain characters you think will triumph in the end actually end up dying unexpectedly, and other characters you think surely will die end up victorious in a way toward the end. It’s refreshing to see a story play out like this, which does have many familiar film tropes, but still manages to shock you in ways you wouldn’t expect. And like any good first film of an intended franchise, this sets things up rather nicely for the story to continue and give us a reason to revisit these folks. What I liked most about the movie is it really feels like we’re witnessing something special, the beginning of something impressive that is going to lead to big things – kind of like that feeling I had many years ago when I saw the first STAR WARS movie. It’s already made something like $100 million in two days over in China, so this could potentially be the start of something massive, and that’s really a cool thing to witness. WARCRAFT definitely isn’t a film for everyone, but the right audience should really enjoy it, and fans of the game will likely be impressed at just how right this big screen adaptation got the world they all know.

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