New 'Warcraft' Trailer: How Does A Realm Deal With An Orc Infestation?

When I say that Warcraft looks like the John Carter or Jupiter Ascending of 2016, I say that as someone who unabashedly adores both of those films and finds their singular, off-kilter, and frequently oddball worlds fascinating, charming, and drunk on imagination. However, both of those films were too weird to attract mainstream audiences and died painful, ugly, public deaths at the box office. When I watch the new Warcraft trailer, I see so much that I like...and I can't help but wonder if anyone other than me is fully prepared to give this wacky-looking movie a big 'ol bear hug.

The new trailer arrived over at the official Warcraft Facebook page and it's different enough from previous previews to warrant your attention. While the early trailers focused on the plight of the Orc characters, who invade the human realm through necessity after their world dies, this one is told from the point of view of the human characters, who suddenly find their villages being raided by hulking, green-skin monsters. Whether by accident or by design, the differences in these these trailers showcase the specific reason why I'm so interested in what director Duncan Jones is doing here. This looks to be a fantasy epic where good and evil aren't so clearly defined, where both sides truly feel they're in the right.

As much as I love the Lord of the Rings movies (and they're goddamn masterpieces), Warcraft doesn't look beholden to them in any way. That feels like a genuine relief after a decade-plus of every major fantasy movie attempting to ape Peter Jackson's sweeping and rugged style. Jones' fantasy world looks colorful and cartoonish, a recreation of the proudly ludicrous video game franchise that inspired it. I was already going to buy a ticket to this film the moment it was announced – my faith in Mr. Jones runs deep after Moon and Source Code – but I'm more sold than ever now that it's so very clear that his film is trying something so very different than most modern fantasy movies. Good or bad, debacle or masterpiece, Warcraft doesn't look bland. It looks singular.

Plus, this new trailer features a moment where a mage fires a magic blast from his hand and sends an orc flying across a forest clearing. That's the kind of loud and proud geek nonsense that pushes all of my buttons.

Warcraft will storm the gates of a theater near you on June 10, 2016.