REVIEW: Warcraft : The Beginning (12A)

Legendary MMORPG computer game World of Warcraft hit’s the silver screen albeit a little bit later to cash in on its heyday a few years ago. Firmly planting itself as the go-to guy for fantasy movies (in the gaping hole left by The Hobbit trilogy), Warcraft: The Beginning features more CGI than (probably) the game itself, and has plenty of little nods and nuances to the game if you’re a seasoned player. However, it tries to cram as much as it can into its decent runtime and leaves the casual viewer slightly perplexed and thinking that it’s not as good as Lord of the Rings.

My alarm bells started ringing when I saw the trailer for this movie – ages ago, and since then I’ve probably seen it a hundred times to the point I started to get sick of it. A concern of mine is that many movies release a couple of different content trailers to whet the appetite of potential cinema goers – but the trailer for Warcraft never changed so we never saw anything new. I’m not sure if the person who made the trailer was so proud of it they never wanted to change it – but this wasn’t a good sign – I mean surely there were some more good parts to the movie we could get to at least see more than the orcs and the same dialogue over again. However, even though I had reservations, the movie wasn’t as bad as I expected.

Warcraft: The Beginning promises that there will be a sequel purely from its tag line – and if they make Warcraft: The Middle and Warcraft: The End then I think I will boycott them. However, it’s also seriously sassy to assume that there will be a sequel regardless. I guess Blizzard could probably afford to make another even if this one bombs since they have a best-selling game on their hands.

I am not an avid Warcraft player, though I have dabbled in it, and I’m not very familiar with the lore of Warcraft either. I have played other MMORPG’s but not spent enough time with the characters of Warcraft to be familiar with them. As a result, some of what I’m about to tell you I have been told by others, so if it’s incorrect or slightly out, I apologise in advance.

The movie starts with some weird necromancer Orc person (think a dodgy Emperor Palpatine) who has been sucking the life out of the world in which he lives with other Orcs and as a result the world is dying. He decides to open a portal to another world and decides to take over it using his army so he can continue to get power and continue to live. Meanwhile, top dog Orc, Durotan, takes umbrage at this, and wants to protect “his people” and starts a mini uprising within the ranks as he knows that this Necromancer Orc is bad news.

Durotan is not the only person to not be happy about this impending invasion. The humans on the other side of the portal aren’t happy about this evasion either. King Llane Wrynn (Dominic Cooper) gets wind of this through Khadagar, who was once a really good wizard, but for story purposes isn’t now. Arranging an army to tackle this head on, the Guardian, Medivh (who I would describe as a poor man’s Gandalf) and Anduin Lothar (Wannabe Aragorn) join forces to help their king against this oncoming Horde. However all is not what it seems – some alliances are forged, some friendships are broken, and there’s a green baby somewhere involved in proceedings.

The king, played by Dominic Cooper, seems legit, but doesn’t have the feel of power or clout you would anticipate with a king and looks a bit too pretty in his armour to be taken seriously. The grand Guardian looks like he should be in a rock band, and is too young to be an awesome wizard he is supposed to be. The only characters who hold any defining characterisation are the wannabe Aragorn, the turncoat orc and a half human/orc fighter woman, Garona (Paula Patton). Even so, they seem to be woefully under developed, especially human/orc woman who could have been used so much better than she was, even though she is literally two letters away from actually being Gamora from Guardians of the Galaxy – with funky teeth.

Overall this movie is a special effect laden movie that is a decent fantasy movie that holds extra value if you are a Warcraft fan but can be a bit confusing if not. However, it’s called Warcraft: The Beginning for a reason, so expect some more soon. Lord of the Rings for the gamer generation; this movie is a decent stab at the fantasy genre but is far too paint by numbers fantasy to be considered a classic. Fans of the game will enjoy the nods and Easter eggs hidden or referenced in the movie, but for the casual movie goer it's a medi-Orc-re fantasy flick that'll make up for the lack of new Lord of the Rings movies. Not bad.

POPSCORE: 7/10

What am I talking about? Warcraft: The Beginning movie
Where can I find out more? http://www.warcraftmovie.com
If you liked this try: The Hobbit trilogy, Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Mummy trilogy

Anything else?

Warcraft: The Beginning is based on the World of Warcraft MMORPG, and includes characters, places and spells from that games lore

REVIEW: American Sniper (15)

Bradley Cooper harnesses his inner Chuck Norris in the contemporary biopic American Sniper. Directed by seasoned veteran Clint Eastwood, American Sniper stars Bradley Cooper as Chris Kyle, the legendary American Sniper - one of the greatest marksmen in American Military history.

I remember when this movie came out there was a lot of "hoo-yah" (to quote the Marines) about it glorifying war and the role of the military.  Personally I found it a moving and compelling story about a man who wanted to fight for his country and what he believes is the greater good. His views may come across as a bit controversial in certain aspects - he doesn't seem to have remorse for killing people but views it more as war and necessary - but the film does an interesting job at highlighting the strains on family and relationships through having a significant other away fighting while trying to rear a child in such a tumultuous world.

The movie is based on the novel, American Sniper, which is basically the autobiography of Chris Kyle - and therefore is written by him. The movie starts with him in a warzone making a difficult call on whether to shoot a citizen in Iraq and just before that decision is made it cuts back to a time in history where we see a pre-military Kyle rodeo-ing and living his life. He decides to change career after an injury and becomes a member of the elite Navy SEALs. After a Full Metal Jacket style montage of training we are dropped right in the action with him and we see him go to war in a number of campaigns and we also get to see his relationship blossom with his family too - marriage, children and post-war years.

Cooper does a fantastic job of bringing the legend that is Chris Kyle to the big screen and the war sequences are reminiscent of my favourite war movie Black Hawk Down. The supporting cast are great too - Sienna Miller puts in a good performance as Chris's wife Taya - who tirelessly brings up their children while he is away protecting his fellow marines.

All in all this is a fantastic film, and although is heavy on American patriotism and definitely justifying the war on Iraq, the film also has an interesting take on the personal side of war and the toll it takes, not just on the military personnel involved but also the families of those servicemen who go to fight. The end of the movie features real life footage in a tribute to the real Chris Kyle.

Tense, taut and thrilling this film is actually really good.  American Sniper is rated 15 and is out on June 1st on DVD and Blu Ray and all good download sites.

POPSCORE: 8/10

What am I talking about? The movie American Sniper

Where can I find out more? http://www.americansnipermovie.com/

If you like this try: Black Hawk Down, We Were Soldiers, Saving Private Ryan 

Anything else?
The movie is based on the book called American Sniper by Chris Kyle.