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The film begins with orc warrior chief Durotan (Toby Kebbell), his pregnant wife, Draka (Anna Galvin), and their clan leaving their dying world by passing through a portal that looks like a wall of swirly, minty mouthwash. On the other side is the more peaceful and pastoral Azeroth—although every sparkly, new fantasy realm we enter here calls to mind a place we’ve visited previously at some point in the “Lord of the Rings” saga. There’s a lot of borrowing going on in “Warcraft.”

Once they arrive, they attack the humans for control of the land: knights led by Durotan’s counterpart, the noble but personality-free Lothar (Travis Fimmel, the Brooklyn pickle entrepreneur of Rebecca Miller’s “Maggie’s Plan”). But while Lothar dutifully serves his king (Dominic Cooper) and queen (Ruth Negga), Durotan begins to question the motives of the clearly insane and power-hungry orc warlock Gul’dan (Daniel Wu). The fact that Gul’dan has pulsating green eyes and likes to drain people of their life force to fuel his own magical abilities may have something to do with it.

The humans have a powerful wizard of their own: Medivh, or “The Guardian,” as he’s known. He’s played by Ben Foster in a bit of casting alone that suggests perhaps he’s not to be trusted. And sure enough, Foster tries to bring glimmers of his trademark menace to the character, but it’s hard to act amid all the noise. Basically, he’s called upon to transport himself and others from place to place by stringing together strands of glowing, blue light and chanting a few spells.

In the midst of this struggle is Garona (Paula Patton), who’s half human, half orc. The fact that she’s being held prisoner and is dressed in chains and tatters for maximum sex appeal provides an uncomfortable racial element to the action, but “Warcraft” seems more interested in exploiting her character for titillation rather than exploring her significance from a societal perspective. (Between this and the latest Adam Sandler Netflix debacle, “The Do-Over,” the charismatic Patton is having a rough couple of weeks. She deserves better.)

Eventually, alliances must be forged to save humanity and orc-kind alike. But first, young mage Khadgar (Ben Schnetzer), an ally of Lothar’s, must learn the secrets hidden inside a purple room that’s meant to be futuristic but looks like a rejected set from “Logan’s Run.” There’s also a giant, evil statue made of clay that comes to life, but it’s more unintentionally hilarious than frightening. And before there can be any peace, there is pummeling—lots and lots of pummeling—as the orcs fight the humans as well as each other under hot, dusty skies. It is brutal. It is repetitive. It is numbing.

And just as it’s ending, “Warcraft” leaves all kinds of plot threads dangling for the ambitious possibility of a sequel. But you’ll be likely to cry “Game Over” because this first one is easily a contender for the worst movie of the year.

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