Where to watch Warcraft
1 Star
Have you ever wondered what one of those SYFY channel movies would look like if it were endowed with a 100 million dollar budget? If so, Warcraft might be tolerable for you. It’s disappointing to see such high-level technical wizardry and uncountable man-hours that result in making this incomprehensible sludge. At the twenty-minute mark, I was already thoroughly confused with the plot details. At the forty-minute mark, I was wholeheartedly lost. And by the hour point, I threw my hands up in frustration and decided it was my duty as a critic to finish the back half. How’s that for truth in reporting?
The peaceful realm of Azeroth stands on the brink of war as its civilization faces a fearsome race of invaders: orc warriors fleeing their dying home to colonize another. 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.
Warcraft is a noisy, overly-complicated, and uninvolving fantasy epic. Yet, the special effects and production design are top-notch. Director Duncan Jones is responsible for two sci-fi masterpieces (Moon, Source Code). His assured storytelling and obvious talent, which guided his previous films, is oddly absent here. The story ends on a cliffhanger for an intended sequel that never (for good reason) materialized. Only of interest to those wanting to see good actors keep a straight face while spouting terrible exposition-heavy dialogue.
Director: Duncan Jones
Stars: Travis Fimmel, Paula Patton, Ben Foster