Talkie Tuesday: Warcraft

"Is war the only answer?"

Hello everyone!

Okay.

I will admit. I'm a bit of a fantasy nut.

I can honestly HEAR people who know me going 'Oh, REALLY?' in the most sarcastic tones ever, but really, I haven't actually sat down to write something very, very fantasy-like in a while now.

And then I remembered this gem I decided to watch some time ago.

The movie itself is already a year old, so to be honest I'm out of the loop and definitely late into the game, and it's been a while since I've seen it so there's been a lot of back-and-forth for me to remember just what, precisely, was going on back in the thing itself.

Also, I have to be honest with you: my main reason for trying this on for size was the fact that Travis Fimmel was cast in one of the lead roles.

I mean, have you seen Vikings? You probably have. If you've seen the show, you know you NEED to see anything and everything Fimmel does in his career, because he's just that good. And, yeah, okay, I wanted to see if his accent would be different to the one he had as Ragnar.

Ergo, without further ado, allow me to introduce Warcraft!

So.

No, I have never played this game before in my entire life, but yes, I DO in fact know this movie is based off a computer game, which is me being proud and on point here.

But anyway.

What we need to know is this: the home world of the orcs is being torn apart by what everyone and their mother calls fel magic. And before you start, no, these aren't Tolkien's orcs. This is a very, very different breed of them.

So what happens when your world starts dying? You get a powerful magician orc, Gul'dan (okay, warlock), who unites the clans into a massive Horde and creates a portal which will take the lot of them from the dying world to a fresh, new one: Azeroth.

But it doesn't quite work that way. Initially, only a small warband is sent through the portal since Gul'dan needs more sacrifice (as in human slaves) to ensure the portal stays open long enough for the Horde to get through. This is where we meet our other chief players: Durotan, a chief in his own right and his pregnant mate Draka (who gives birth right after arriving to Azeroth).

The orcs start their pillaging, while the humans, or really Anduin Lothar (played by Travis Fimmel, natch) investigate the bodies because they look ... well, weird. A young mage, Khadgar, is caught doing the same thing, but he explains that he's worried because he can sense traces of the fel magic. Lothar convinces the king, Wrynn (Dominic Cooper), who just so happens to be his brother-in-law, to ask for help from Medivh, the Guardian, who should be able to combat this magic.

Medivh joins Khadgar and Lothar on a scouting expedition where they clash with the orcs, and Medivh uses magic to slay them, but it only takes those who were infected by the fel magic in the first place - leaving Durotan alive and well.

He figures out it was actually fel magic which killed their home world, and that Gul'dan must be stopped before he destroys Azeroth as well, which prompts Durotan to arrange a secret meeting with Wrynn.

Khadgar, meanwhile, is studying a book which was shown to him back in Medivh's home, learing that Gul'dan needed help to open the portal - aka someone in Azeroth is a traitor. Before he can do much about this, however, Medivh burns the research. Traitor action, much?

So, while every species in Azeroth argues about what to do with the orcs, Wrynn agrees to meet with Durotan, on the word of a captured half-orc slave, Garona, who says that when an orc gives his word, it is sacred and cannot be broken. Unfortunately, another orc chieftain has different ideas and ambushes the lot of them, killing Lothar's son and enraging the war commander.

After this, Khadgar is more feverish than ever to try to find a way to help Medivh, but instead sees Medivh's eyes shine green, indicating fel magic, which sends him to Kirin Tor, the highest reigning body of human and Elven mages, who grant him a meeting with Alodi; she tells the young man that Medivh has been corrupted by fel magic.

The orcs are having trouble at camp - Durotan's clan is being purged for their disobedience, but Draka manages to escape along with her son, Go'el, who she sends down the river in a basket before her death. Durotan challenges Gul'dan to a traditional orcish duel for leadership, which results in his demise as Gul'dan dishonours the ancient rules and drains Durotan's life using magic, despite the orcs' disapproval. But hey, what can ya do against a warlock, right?

Medivh is now opening the portal to bring the Horde across, and things seem to be going to hell.

But wait!

Wrynn leads the human forces against the orc camp, and Lothar goes after Medivh with Khadgar. They manage to mortally wound him, and just before death, he becomes his old self, closing the portal to the orc world but instead opening one to the human capital, allowing Wrynn's forces and the freed slaves a way home.

However, after Medivh dies, Wrynn and Garona are left on the wrong side with a handful of soldiers. Thinking on his feet, the king orders Garona to kill him so that she will have power in the orc horde, and will be in a position to negotiate peace. Successfully integrated in the Horde now, Garona knows Lothar believes she actually turned her back on the king when he finds her knife in the body. Before Lothar can take the king back home, he is challenged to a duel, and quickly disposes of the much bigger orc chieftain, showing them that they still have much to fear from humans.

Despite Gul'dan's orders for Lothar to be killed, the orcs respect the rules of the duel and allow him to leave with the king's body. At the funeral, the bickering races finally acknowledge the problem and rally behind Lothar to strike back.

And the baby Go'el?

He's found by a human.

The end!

I have to admit, I watched this movie in two parts. Mainly because I needed some dose of non fantasy in between, and because I felt some parts were stretched out. Also, all that armour ... how does anyone move and fight in that? It looked so heavy! Not to mention it was kind of funny watching the combination of medieval and gunpowder weapons ...

That being said, however, it was enjoyable to watch, and if there'll be a sequel, you can count me in!

xx

*images and video not mine