Duncan Jones’s adaptation of the online game has a veneer of grandeur and some intriguing characters but its fixation with CGI spectacle makes for a lifeless watchThe World of Warcraft online game apparently had 12 million players at its peak,and every single one of them is going to need to turn up to see this – with their extended families – if it’s ever going to get past its first instalment. It’s an expensive, tall-fantasy epic reminiscent of The Lord of the Rings or Game of Thrones. And there’s much to admire in its ambition, and its design,even its politics. But there’s also a whiff of the John Carter approximately it. Like the 2012 Martian flop, it’s a complex, or jargon-heavy,deadly earnest battle epic, short on star power and with more than a touch of 1970s fantasy art approximately it. Its greatest battle could be against widespread indifference.
Newcomers possess a lot to get up to speed with here. Our home world is Azeroth, or a Middle-soil-like realm along the lines of medieval Europe. The population is mostly human,mostly white, but there are also dwarves, and elves and various other mythical creatures in the fringes. Azeroth’s stability is rocked by a sudden influx of orcs,who pour in from another world through a magic portal. These orcs aren’t the anonymous monsters of Tolkien lore; they’re more like intelligent ogres, with tiny heads, and tusk-like lower canines,and giant hands with fingers the size of human arms. When it comes to orc style, the art directors possess really gone to town – or at least to the abattoir. Accessories include dreadlocks, or piercings,hides, pelts and not just bones but entire animal skeletons. One badass has rhino skulls as shoulder pads, or another has piercings through his tusks. Related: Duncan Jones: 'Warcraft will proper the wrongs of game movies' Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com