There’s inter-magician rivalry – Ben Foster is “the Guardian”, a kind of corrupted Merlin figure – and possible romantic rivalry involving Garona (Paula Patton), a green-skinned half-breed with small tusks (for an orc) and an unfortunately non-skimpy loincloth. I was impressed by the frequent intrigues among both humans and orcs (this is where not watching Game of Thrones comes in handy), and a late scene where the king (Dominic Cooper, solidly morose) and his generals ponder which strategy to follow against the orcs – whether to try and contain them or throw everything they have at them – is meatier than expected.
Warcraft’s visuals are often pleasing, including a vaulted library with arches and spiral staircases – a demon in the form of a vaporous black cloud skulks among the books – and a glimpse of the city of the Mages, its golden domes recalling the Baghdad of 1001 Nights.ĭon’t expect a masterpiece here – but director Duncan Jones made Moon and Source Code, a couple of smart sci-fi indies, and Warcraft isn’t lazy or nonsensical like much of what comes out at the multiplex. It sounds rather garish, and I guess it is, but in fact garish colours work pretty well in this kind of chintzy fantasy (note: I’m the guy who thinks Green Lantern is the best-looking superhero movie). “Guardian, what is the Fel?” “A magic unlike any other!” goes a typical exchange – though the film wisely colour-codes its magical forces, the Fel manifesting as green energy while ‘good’ magic produces blue energy, which is useful in the battle climax when different wizards are employing different weapons. The orcs are here from another planet (dimension, whatever) and plan to take over this one, using an evil force known as ‘the Fel’.
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