kind patron

On Warcraft : the movie's storyline is pretty much based on the Warcraft 1 Game. Although it has gained mostly critical reviews, I would give it an 8/10 -- wifey enjoyed it and was able to somewhat understand why I am a fan of the game and the franchise.

Draenor, the homeworld of the orcs, is dying. Gul'dan unites the orc clans into an army called the Horde, and uses a mysterious magic force called the fel to create a portal to the realm of Azeroth. The fel requires draining life to sustain the portal, so the orcs sacrifice captive Draenei to fuel it. Gul'dan leads a small warband to capture prisoners in Azeroth and sacrifice them to bring the whole Horde through. Despite their doubts, Durotan, the chieftain of the Frostwolf clan, his pregnant mate Draka, and his friend Orgrim Doomhammer join this initial warband. While crossing through the portal, Draka goes into labor. When the orcs arrive in Azeroth, Gul'dan assists Draka with her birth, but the baby is stillborn. Gul'dan then uses the life force of a nearby deer to revive and infuse fel magic into the baby.

The orcs raid several settlements throughout Azeroth. Sir Anduin Lothar, the military commander of the kingdom of Stormwind, looks over some of the men that were killed, and catches a trespassing mage named Khadgar, who explains that he was investigating the dead bodies because they contain traces of the fel. Khadgar persuades Stormwind's king, Llane Wrynn, to consult Medivh, the fabled Guardian of Tirisfal, and Llane sends Lothar and Khadgar to Medivh's citadel Karazhan to inform him of the fel's presence in Azeroth. In the Karazhan library, a ghostly shadow leads Khadgar to a mysterious book, which he takes.

Lothar, Khadgar and Medivh join a scouting team following traces of fel magic, but are ambushed by orcs. Medivh uses a spell to k*ll most of the orcs, and Durotan, Orgrim, and the Horde's warchief Blackhand flee.

Khadgar restrains the half-orc Garona, and the soldiers take her prisoner. King Llane frees Garona in exchange for loyalty to Stormwind, and she leads the humans to spy on the orc camp, where they learn of Gul'dan's plan to bring the entire Horde to Azeroth. Meanwhile, Durotan realizes that the fel magic drained the life from Draenor, and if Gul'dan is not stopped Azeroth will suffer the same fate. Despite Orgrim's objections, Durotan invites Llane to a secret meeting so that the Frostwolf Clan and humans can unite to k*ll Gul'dan. Studying the book he took from Karazhan, Khadgar learns that Gul'dan could not have opened the portal on his own; he had help from someone in Azeroth. He is confronted by Medivh that he should not be so arrogant as to think Medivh needs his help, and effortlessly burns Khadgar's notes with a spell. Khadgar later discusses the truth about the portal with Lothar, as well as Medivh's actions against him.

The Frostwolf Clan meet with the humans to negotiate an alliance, but are ambushed by Blackhand. As the humans retreat, Medivh forms a magical barrier to protect them, but Lothar’s son Callan is separated from the rest of the group and killed by Blackhand. Medivh is severely weakened, so Garona and Khadgar take him back to Karazhan to recover. After noticing Medivh's eyes shine green, showing that he is infected by the fel, Khadgar returns to his former home Dalaran to seek help from a group of mages called the Kirin Tor. Alodi, a legendary mage, reveals that Medivh has indeed been corrupted by the fel and possessed by a demon. At the orc camp, Blackhand purges the Frostwolf clan. Draka escapes and sends her baby down a river in a basket, but she is then caught and killed by another orc. Durotan challenges Gul'dan to a Mak'gora, a traditional orcish duel to the death with its set of rules. During the fight, Gul'dan kills Durotan by draining his life with his magic, earning the disapproval of the orcs in presence for his violating honorable combat rules. Medivh, now in a half-demonic state, starts to open the portal to Draenor, and Gul'dan sacrifices the captured human villagers to allow the rest of the horde to enter Azeroth.

Llane leads the human army in an assault on the orc camp, while Khadgar and Lothar fight Medivh and exorcise the demon inside him. Medivh is left mortally wounded, using the last of his strength to close the portal to Draenor and instead open a portal to Stormwind, allowing Llane to evacuate most of the freed prisoners. The portal closes as Medivh dies, leaving Llane, Garona and a small number of human soldiers to fight the orcs. Llane secretly orders Garona to k*ll him, saying it is of no use for both of them to die, and thus restore her honor with the orcs. Garona reluctantly does so, and is welcomed into the Horde by Gul'dan. As the Orcs celebrate, Lothar arrives on his gryphon to retrieve King Llane's body. Blackhand challenges Lothar to a Mak'gora, and Lothar successfully defeats him. Against Gul'dan's demands, the orcs, bound by tradition, allow Lothar to depart with Llane's body. At Llane's funeral in Stormwind, the leaders of the other human nations, as well as the High Elves and Dwarves, proclaim an alliance against the orcs and rally behind Lothar. Elsewhere, the basket with Durotan and Draka's infant son Go'el, is found by a human.

“Warcraft” ends with a set-up for a sequel, but also the feeling that if this is what combat looks like, it’s time to give peace a chance.