I have never played or seen the game, so I can't review on the success of the adaptation. But, what I can review on is how this stands as a film. In that regard, it is probably one of the most disappointing blockbusters of the year.
Duncan Jones, the man that brought us some damn fine films in Moon and Source Code has delivered what will ultimately be a blemish in his resume. Visually, this film is a treat. The Orcs look great and the world that has been built is stunning. I enjoy the fantasy genre, but aside from some cool aspects on display (there is some nice sorcery going on), and for all it's prettiness, the story, acting and script work is well below par.
The story is reasonably simple I suppose, but it takes a fair amount of focus to get what is going on. Don't get me wrong, I don't want to be spoon fed, but it felt like I needed to have some background knowledge for some of this. There are a fair amount of characters in this, and they don't all seem to get the amount of fleshing out they needed. It really did feel like there was a lot more that needed to be in the film for it to feel a bit more satisfying as far as character arcs go.
The lack of fleshed out characters probably wouldn't have been as noticeable if the script was more engaging. There was nothing to really bite in to and satisfy me. It is not terrible at all, it just didn't draw me in like I should have been. A key aspect of enjoying any script is the acting around it - and here, it is not very good. A largely unknown cast, the humans are outdone by the Orcs. In fact, my main bug bear with this whole film is the lack of a real hero to get behind. Travis Fimmel from Vikings just didn't have the presence needed to lead the film.
The Lord of the Rings trilogy is the gold standard for this type of film. This film tries really hard, but doesn't even come close. I couldn't even say it is a good movie. It has good parts, but the sum of all that is just not enough for me.
2.5/5
