plot review
The story of the movie is based on the first orc war. The two sides of the battle are the human alliance and the orc tribe. The alliance is led by King Ryan, Lothar Knight, Guardian Medivh, and Khadgar. The tribe is Gul'dan. , Blackhand, Durotan, Orgrimmar and other leaders.
The orcs originally lived harmoniously in another world outside Azeroth - Draenor, but the orc warlock Gul'dan advocated greater power and studied the use of fel energy - this savage darkness that absorbs the life of the spirit of all things magic. The abuse of fel energy caused Draenor to deplete and gradually become unviable. For the survival of the orcs, in order to gain more power, Gul'dan, under the call of a great master, used fel energy to work with the great master to open a dark portal - from Draenor to Azeroth So, Gul'dan tempted the orcs that there were more plains, grass, and clear springs. So the warriors of the orc tribe entered Azeroth through the portal in batches, and the orcs as invaders must have a battle with the natives of Azeroth.
Khadgar, a young mage, once studied in the Kirin Tor, the highest level of human magic research organization, but for some reason broke the oath of the Kirin Tor mage and wandered in Azeroth. By chance, he discovered a powerful dark magic in the human infantry attacked by the orc warriors, and realized that this magic could destroy Azeroth, so he determined to find the root cause. While the rulers of Lordaeron are frequently attacked by unknown creatures (actually orc warriors), King Ryan and Lord Lothar are eager for the great guardian Medivh to help them find out the truth. Khadgar and Lothar went to Medivh's Tower in person, and they finally summoned Medivh with King Ryan's token. Medivh confirmed that "evil" (fel) had appeared in Azeroth after a sleuthing, and during the sleuthing they captured Garona who looked like a half-orc. At the same time, Durotan, the Frostwolf clan of the orc tribe, gradually discovered the horror of the fel energy used by Gul'dan, and sought to destroy the dark portal together with the alliance of humans. Unfortunately, Durotan was betrayed by his friend Orgrimmar, and both Durotan and the human alliance army who went to meet Durotan were ambushed. On the human side, despite Medivh's magical saving of the troops, Lord Lothar lost his son in the battle. After casting the spell, Medivh's body became weaker and was sent to Medivh's Tower for recuperation. On the Orc side, Durotan was cornered by Orgrimmar's betrayal, and the Frostwolf clan became dissidents liquidated by the Horde. Durotan was defeated by Fel in a duel with Gul'dan, Durotan's wife Draka was killed, and Draka threw their son (the Warchief Thrall who would later rebuild the Horde) into the river before he died , is preserved.
In the Tower of Medivh, Khadgar found that Medivh's eyes were full of green fel energy. From various clues, it was inferred that the great guardian had been corrupted by fel energy, so he threw himself to the former Human Mage Council—— The Kirin Tor seeks help. In the Kirin Tor, Medivh is summoned by an unidentified woman in black who tells Khadgar that Medivh is evil and instructs the young wizard to join his friends in destroying Medivh's plans.
The Human Alliance learned Gul'dan's plan from Durotan, and King Ryan decided to send his troops with all his strength and rely on Medivh's power to destroy the dark portal together to end all disasters. However, the returned Medivh is already evil. Medivh did not appear on the battlefield, nor did he even help the Human Alliance, but instead let them enter a trap. In the distant Medivh Tower, the evil force finally completely controlled Medivh, Out of control, he killed minions who had served him for decades, and attempted to use a spell to reopen the dark portal from Draenor to Azeroth. At this critical moment, Khadgar and Ser Lothar arrived in the Tower of Medivh in time, and worked together to subdue Medivh, who was eroded by the demon Sargeras, so the Dark Portal was closed. When Medivh, whose evil side of his soul was purified, was on his deathbed, he opened the portal for the human coalition to return to Lordaeron with the only remaining vitality, but he failed to ensure that everyone retreated. In order to maintain responsibility and honor, King Ryan and Ser Lhasa were the queens of the army. They failed to return to the city-state before the portal was closed, and were surrounded by the orc army. In the end, King Ryan chose to protect Garona, hoping that Garona would enjoy the honor of killing the leader of the other party and allow Garona to enter the orc tribe, so as to preserve the possibility of peaceful dialogue between the orcs and humans. Ser Lothar, who was also trapped, chose to have a one-on-one duel with the orc's Black Hand, who was the thug who killed Lothar's son. In the duel, Lothar killed Blackhand with a fatal blow. The orc warriors kept the ancient clan creed, did not kill Lothar, and the surviving high lord returned to Lordaeron, and finally raised his shining sword, "For the Alliance", the movie closed with a loud cry , however, the conflict between tribes and humans has not been eliminated.
Several conflicting foci and battlegrounds are highlighted in the film. The first is naturally the frontal battlefield of the direct fight between the human alliance and the orc army, and there is also a confrontation between Durotan and Gul'dan of the Frostwolf clan on the tribal side, and a direct duel between them is arranged. The battle between the Kirin Tor mage's positive magic and Gul'dan's fel energy (fel) is also an important point to watch. In addition to the armed battlefield and the magical battlefield, there is a dark line hidden outside the entire battle plot, that is, the battlefield where the great guardian Medivh's soul battles the light and the dark side. "Light comes from darkness, and darkness emerges. The motto "Light" reminds us of the eternal and insurmountable struggle of light and shadow, black and white, good and evil within the human soul. We can start with this mantra.
three appearances of the spell
Looking back at the film, the director does seem to intend to use it as a clue, which appears at different stages of the film's progression. The first time was when Khadgar visited Medivh's library, and under the guidance of a certain shadow woman, he found a mage codex and read this sentence.
At this time, Khadgar may not know the fel energy or the implied meaning of this spell. What "light" and "darkness" refer to respectively. What is the significance of the next orc war? And then the second teaching made the situation clear. If the first time Khadgar came into contact with this sentence under the guidance of the shadow woman's profile, the second time was directly informed by a dialogue with the woman in black. Back in the plot of the movie, Khadgar, who noticed that Medivh was corrupted by fel energy, returned to the Kirin Tor Council and was summoned by some magical power. After entering the gate of Alodi, Khadgar met the woman in black. (Actually, the mother of Medivh, the former great guardian Aegwynn), the woman instructed him to destroy Medivh's plan, and gave such an esoteric sentence before leaving - "Light comes from darkness, and darkness emerges from light".
The third appearance of the spell is at the crucial moment of Khadgar's battle with Medivh/Sargras. Khadgar remembered the syntactic spell at the critical juncture of the fierce battle with the demons, and a miracle happened after reciting it silently (the movie did not tell the story). What happened) The tower of Medivh exploded to end the entire battle, and the demon Sargeras parasitic in Medivh was defeated.
The Last Guardian - Medivh's Growth, Fall and Soul Struggle
The movie omits the introduction of the Medivh family and its background story. From the plot alone, it is difficult for the viewer to understand why Medivh fell, and it is impossible to further imagine how Medivh was tortured before this battle. responsibilities and feelings towards his family. The lack of the foreshadowing of Medivh and his mother Aegwynn makes the woman in black that Khadgar met in the movie when he came to Karazhan abrupt and incomprehensible, so it is necessary for us to supplement Medivh's growth and family background. (Of course, what the movie has not explained, the supplements here may not fully conform to the film's adaptation of the plot and role-building, but the official materials and background novels are still the most worthy of reference, let us grasp the necessary materials for the role of Medivh).
Medivh, the guardian of Azeroth, grew up with King Ryan and the Knights of Lothar, fighting side by side countless times. When Medivh was a child, his mother, Aegwynn, infused him with the most powerful Kirin Tor mana, so he was the most powerful mage in adulthood.
Whether in novels or movies, in Medivh, we can witness the glory of the greatest human mage. Before the fall, he was not only an upright and powerful mage, who could solve the kingdom in danger, protect the people of the whole territory, and at the same time A kind, wise and empathetic grandpa who knows how to inspire young people to move forward, giving them guidance and encouragement as they face difficult life choices.
In the film, there is a love scene between Garona and Lothar (in fact, there is no official history). Garona develops a friendship with Lothar, but doesn't know how to choose because of race and war. Between the hesitations, the wise Medivh opened his heart to him, told his youthful love, and encouraged Garona to pursue her love boldly. Before leaving, he even gave her a magic flower - so kind Understanding people and teaching so earnestly, the image of a prophet, mentor, and wise man comes to the fore, which reminds us of Gandalf in "Lord of the Rings" and the white-haired headmaster of the "Harry Potter" series, but the story Propulsion is not like that.
In the end, Medivh went into degeneration, and it is a pity that the movie failed to explain the reason for his degeneration. We can see the reason for the blackening of this noble man from both internal and external aspects.
Why did you fall?
Aegwynn, the mother of Medivh, "conquered" the blackened Titan in the battle with Saragos. Sargeras' body was destroyed, but his soul was quietly lodged in Aegwynn's womb. And after Medivh was born, he continued to live in him, just looking for the right time to take full control of Medivh, a human mage who was destined to be stronger than his mother.
The background of Warcraft is huge and there are many characters. Some have gone through hardships and finally become great achievements, some are willing to suffer from fate for their ideals, and there are quite a number of unparalleled heroes who have gone from good to evil for their own reasons (at least they once went from good to evil), but their fallen/corrupted The reasons vary. If the black dragon Neltharion (Deathwing) was corrupted by his quest for supreme dominance and endless mana, Medivh is different - Medivh was born with the powerful Kirin Tor mana infused into him by his mother Aegwynn , Medivh was a great guardian admired by all people from the beginning; if the former human prince Arthas lost himself because of the constant burning flame of revenge, Medivh never had hatred for the enemy; if the orcs The shaman Ner'zhul was deceived by the demon Kil'jaeden, and Medivh was different. Medivh was never deceived from beginning to end; if the former great druid Malfurion Deer Helm lost hope for the world because of the death of his dearest son, went to a twisted and narrow road to save his children and was used by evil, Medivh did not lose such a close relative; if Illidan is because of feelings, because of love The woman who was taken away by others and went crazy, Medivh seems to have never been in love or a partner...
Medivh's corruption is completely different from other characters. Medivh in the background novel not only changed because of Sargeras's soul parasitism, but also his own internal problems.
Since the birth of Medivh, Medivh has been regarded by his mother Aegwynn as an instrumental existence, in order to inherit its powerful mana, or punish or ridicule those stubborn and garbage wizards of the Kirin Tor; and as Azeroth Medivh's guardian, Medivh never took the initiative to choose - he was forced. If the guardian is an honor admired by all people, the powerful Kirin Tor mana is the dream of countless mages, but this may not be what Medivh really wants. Yes, at least it was not the result of Medivh's own active choice - yes, whether Medivh's role as a mage or a guardian, is the wheel of fortune thrown to him by the external world. What is Medivh himself? How can you be yourself in the world, there have always been such doubts and even irony.
Nietzsche said that all remorse stems from not being able to be himself, and Medivh did. He has been busy dealing with various security affairs in Azeroth all year round, either coordinating the affairs of the Kirin Tor Council, or studying various code-enhancing magics. Besides, how much happiness and release has Medivh's own soul had? Perhaps there was, and perhaps the happiest was his joy of going out hunting with the young King Ryan and Ser Lothar. So it is for this reason that even when Medivh's soul is almost completely occupied by Sargeras, Medivh can still stop and pay attention to his friend Lothar's reminder and advice, "Don't attack your friend, Medivh, I am Lothar".
It is hard to believe that if Medivh's soul completely gave up its resistance to Sargeras, whether young Khadgar would be able to subdue him, perhaps it was Medivh's own soul's swearing resistance that could drive him away, or Die with Sargeras. Medivh's mother, Aegwynn, fought against the devil, the first leader of the Burning Legion, Sargeras, and Medivh also resisted, and the resistance lasted longer and longer, and even said that Medivh resisted Sargeras all his life, although He was really alone.
Epilogue
The coexistence and interdependence of light and darkness is the true nature of this world and life. The shadow side of human nature often adds misery to the world, but the honorable thing is the shining of light. Under the huge darkness, the balance of the soul may be broken, and all kinds of obsessions and delusions such as fear, anxiety, loneliness, doubt, jealousy, etc. spread and spread to the point of distorting the nature completely. Azeroth is constantly at war, and the heroes have to face the invasion of demons again and again, each time the enemy is not only the demon, but also themselves - whether their own souls can maintain their balance.
The feature films and movies of Warcraft are invaluable in transforming the power of light and darkness into perspective, and with the help of different pros and cons from different angles, readers can see into the fantasy world where good and evil are intertwined and good and evil alternate. The former guardian of all spirits degenerated into a summoner of fel energy. It was not until Khadgar expelled the soul of Medivh from the evil side that parasitized it, and the good and noble human archmage in the past finally returned. At the critical juncture of the battle between man and beast, Medivh used his remaining life force to summon the portal to Stormwind City.
"Light comes from darkness, and darkness emerges from light", this sentence is enough to be the finishing touch of the movie, and it is also the sublimation of the great guardian Medivh and his family's desperate struggle against the power of darkness. This proverb with a strong Zarathusian color can also be used as a comment on the characters of the entire Warcraft series. Now Medivh, later Arthas, Illidan, Sylvanas... Sargeras was also the Warrior of Light who guarded the spirits of the Pantheon at first, and fell for various reasons.
Living in the dark, yearning for the light.
"Those I wanted to protect, but I destroyed" - Medivh is a tragic hero like Sophocles's Oedipus, the things they strive to protect are ultimately destroyed by themselves. Whether it is the curse of fate or the depravity of the soul, we get a human insight, emotional "purification"/"shock" and some kind of guidance towards the future in such a movie - by the play/movie To get a release from the tragedy, paradox and irresistible impermanence of the reality and one's own life - even a guardian like Medivh can't resist the invasion of evil and fall, let alone us ordinary people?
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