Warcraft: The Beginning (Movie, 2016)

Warcraft: The Beginning (2016), based on the videogame World of Warcraft, which in turn, reinterprets J.R. Tolkien’s classic epic themes and character races (for example, humans, orcs, elves, dwarves, etc.)  made popular in his most well-known stories. In this case, Warcraft: The Beginning primarily introduces the conflict of an advance invading force of orc warriors lead by Gul’dan, their powerful shamanistic wizard who employs a demonic magic which transmutes life force of living entities. In this situation, he uses his human captors to open a dimensional gate bridging their dying home world of Draenor with the realm of Azeroth for the purpose of establishing a new colony on the planet. The human defenders at the dispatch of King Llane of the Kingdom of Stormwind, using stealth, cleverness, and agility, set out to contain this extraterrestrial threat, and quell an impending second larger invasion called "the horde."

Opening with scenes of orcish life on Dranor, Warcraft: The Beginning present a well-established, if dying, civilization. Values appreciating ferocity, dying in battle with honor, courage and other nationalistic values counterbalance those of love, loyalty, harmony with nature, and safety and security of family. These are not the mindless, scrawny, hobgoblin-brutes portrayed in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Ring trilogy. Rather the orc warriors represented in Warcraft instead are sentient, battle-hardened, muscle-bound behemoths who tower over their human opponents.

The extraterrestrial invaders include Gul’dan (Daniel Wu), the powerful orc tribal wizard, powerful Frostwolf chieftain Durotan (Toby Kebbell), his wife Draka (Anna Galvin), his good friend Orgrim Doomhammer (Rob Kazinsky), the warmongering Blackhand (Clancy Brown) and bands of advance guard clansmen. The defenders include Stormwind King Llane Wrynn (Dominic Cooper), military commander Anduin Lothar (Travis Fimmel), Lothar's son Callan (Burkely Duffield), former wizard apprentice Khadgar (Ben Schnetzer), and wizard protector of the Stormwind Kingdom, Medivh (Ben Foster), and Queen Taria (Ruth Negga). In the middle, despised and distrusted by both camps, stands Garona (Paula Patton), the half-human/half-orc interpreter who may be the key peace or savage warfare.

Though Gul’dan promises his clansmen a new beginning, some among his ranks question Gul’dan’s true intention, which seems to drag death and destruction across two worlds. But at the end of the day, in the aftermath of shifting alliances, allegiances, and relationships, Warcraft is more than a sum of epic battles. Rather it is a slippery bog of ever-changing morals and values through which good characters with good intentions must tread at the risk of compromising their beliefs. Death, demonic power, destruction square off against life, peace, honor, and long-term planet conservation. However, betrayals and deceitful dealings in the shadow of evil mask which side of the battle some of the combatants truly stand.

Warcraft: The Beginning provides an epic, expansive, and well-blended composition of live action with impressively detailed animation. The action of the battle scenes blisters with ferocity and speed. The lead cast deliver strong ensemble performances. Particularly, outstanding are Travis Fimmel as commander Lothar, Dan Wu as Gul’dan, Toby Kebbell as Durotan, Anna Galvin as Draka, Durotan’s wife, Paula Patton as Gorona, Ben Schnetzer as Khadgar, and Ruth Negga as Queen Taria. Dominic Cooper as King Lland and Ben Foster as Medivh are also solid. Released by Universal Pictures and directed by Duncan Jones, the first installment of the Warcraft saga drums up an entertaining 3.75 out of 5 stars.

About the Reviewer
Brian K. Hemphill (bkhemphill@expressiveartistry.net) is an author, artist, blogger, teacher, and public speaker. He has explored a number of artistic disciplines, including fiction and poetry writing, visual art, drama, dance, and music. He now offers consultations, one-one-one coaching sessions, workshop presentations, and book talks about the factors that foster artistic creativity and expressiveness. His book is entitled The Elements of Creative and Expressive Artistry: A Philosophy for Creating Everything Artistic. Hemphill lives in the New York metropolitan area.

About the Book
The Elements of Creative and Expressive Artistry: A Philosophy for Creating Everything Artistic (www.elementsofartistry.net) is an all-artist guide which identifies the nine root elements common to all artistic fields and explains their significance in creating expressive art. This book is for adult and young adult performers, writers, and visual artists. The Elements of Creative and Expressive Artistry uses hundreds of relevant examples, citations, and quotations from prominent art professionals, philosophers, scientists, past and present, to support over 40 chapters. Through warm and insightful narrative, Hemphill offers advice from painters, sculptors, dancers, choreographers, actors, film directors, musicians, teachers, psychologists, scientists, philosophers, and critics, writing on all forms of art, including visual arts, literary arts, dramatic arts, musical arts, dance arts, and hybrid art forms. For advanced artists, critics, and teachers looking to understand artistic depth and nuance, The Elements of Creative and Expressive Artistry presents 36 additional elements branching from the nine root elements and suggests other avenues for artistic investigation and development. Although mainly written for the artist and arts professional, the non-artist who has a general love for art will also gain a deeper understanding and appreciation of art.