Mr. Movie: ‘Warcraft’ is ‘Lord of the Rings’ on Steroids

Warcraft pits Orcs and humans against each other. The Orcs are led by an evil magician. There have been many conquests, and he has sucked the life out of every one. So the hoard has to move on. This time, they’ve targeted the peaceful kingdom of Azeroth. It’s protected by a guardian whose magic is as strong as that of the Orc leader.

In both camps, there is opposition to the direction plotted by their leaders. An Orc clan head questions what they’re doing, and the King of Azeroth has his problems too.

Based on the popular game, Warcraft is co-written and directed by Duncan Jones — David Bowie’s son — who directed two of my all-time favorite sci-fi flicks Source Code and Moon.

Jones is a great storyteller, but this one has some flaws and is not his best work. Warcraft is effects laden, and in most places, the effects are incredible. Most. Not all. Sometimes the effects look like — well — effects and don’t have that needed, natural look.

Though Orcs vs. humans is missing a lot of humanity, it does, however, manage to connect enough of the dots to turn the game’s concept into a pretty good movie. Though a bit shallow, the story moves quickly and rarely drags. That said, it is based on a game, so how deep can it be?

Game movies are hit and miss. This one has more hits than misses. The bottom line: Warcraft is The Lord of the Rings on steroids.

This story was originally published June 9, 2016 at 1:06 PM with the headline "Mr. Movie: ‘Warcraft’ is ‘Lord of the Rings’ on Steroids."