Alien at the Movies

This is not a sneak preview. This film has already released.

Based on an immensely popular subscription video game, it feels like a poor man's "Lord of the Rings" with a touch of the "300", but what the heck, the source material is only a role playing game so don't get your hopes too far up. The humans of Azeroth must battle invading Orcs, rescue their captured people, & close the magic portal before the next Horde wave can come through. Faithful gamers should quickly grasp the nuances of the plot while newbies may trail a bit but should pick up on the gist of the situation in this struggle between good & evil. Expect bigger-than-life battle scenes employing epic special effects honed over years of on-line computer development. When you hire the gorgeous Paul Patton to play an Orc, you don't mess with her beauty with CGI effects so the end result seems like the runt of the litter with a more human body type. Note that this reviewer is a non-gamer but still found this film entertaining escapism. The conclusion doesn't heavily hint to a sequel but the door is certainly left open.

Alien gives it 3 "honor your traditions" stars out of 4.