When the homeworld of orcs, Draenor, faces dying, the orcs decide to flee through a portal to another world. Beyond the portal lies Azeroth and Stormwind, the home of humans who are not ready to simply lay down arms. These two worlds collide violently but there are still heroes willing to put an end to the war, racing against the clock and the dark force of the fel.

Warcraft introduces us to two heroes: Durotan, the orc chieftain of the Frostwolf Clan, and Lothar, the commander of the human kingdom of Stormwind. While they stand for the opposing factions, they have the same enemy. That enemy is the fel, a dark magic unlike any other. Fel uses life as fuel and even though many orcs have embraced this new gift, Durotan has his doubts. So far only Gul’dan, the orc who has united the clans, has had the ability to control the fel but when Durotan witnesses a human mage controlling it too, he has a new idea. Maybe the orcs and humans can unite against Gul’dan before it’s too late and fel destroys Azeroth. If they manage to trust each other, that is…

First of all, I enjoyed this movie. A lot. I can’t claim to know much of the Warcraft lore but I have the very basics in hand, and it was cool to see the first war on the big screen. The orcs were done very well and the human cast did a great job too. And as a fan of all things magical, I liked how spells were portrayed in the movie.

The movie does a bit of jumping between scenes and characters and factions, but it wasn’t too over the top. Durotan had the main focus so it’s not surprising his character was my favorite in the movie. It helps if you know something of the Warcraft lore because there are gaps and a fair bit of “let us briefly mention this but then you’re on your own.” Then again, I enjoy stories that don’t spell everything out for you, but I get some people can find the plot confusing.

I’ve heard this movie being called cheesy. I never thought I’d say this but I actually welcomed a bit of cheesy-ness. In this time of Game of Thrones and everything dark and grim and death and horror, it was a refreshing break to go see a high fantasy movie. And let’s be fair: Warcraft is not a new, original movie. It’s based on video games. In that regard it’s a product of its time, not of this time.

The plot was quite straightforward but it carried well throughout the movie, and there weren’t any moments I found dull or useless. I also liked the ending, but that’s all I’ll say about it to avoid spoilers.

If you like Warcraft, you’ve probably already decided to watch this. If you like high fantasy, you should watch this.

Rating based on my experience:

∗4,5/5∗

Rating for people who know nothing of Warcraft:

∗3,5/5∗

(Oh and… For the Horde!)