Low-budget indie medieval fantasy movies have lately surprised me; movies like A Knight’s War and The Last Redemption have set an example that if the creative vision, narrative, and characterization show mettle, drawbacks in superficial, larger-than-life elements can easily be ignored. I had hoped to see a similar example being set by Stuart Brennan’s Warlord, but unfortunately, it turned out to be a major disappointment in that regard. I don’t mind PS2 game cutscene graphics being used to highlight the scope of the larger world, but the gaps in the narrative are too frequent to provide a comprehensive understanding. Aside from a couple of well-built set pieces and Billy Boyd of Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy fame playing a key role in the movie, there isn’t much that Warlord can offer fantasy movie fans.
Spoilers Ahead
Why Did Emily Approach Llanofinn for Help?
Eons ago, Elvenkind created the majestic city of Lloris, and much later, they provided refuge to humans inside the secure walls of their settlement. However, the distinct difference in the aging process in both species created a disparity; through trickery and guile, humans usurped Elves from the chief council of Lloris. In no time, severe laws were passed to ensure the extermination of the Elves, and they were banished from the city forever. The surviving Wood Elves led by Queen Bronwynn created a sanctuary in a hidden mystical realm, drawing enchantment from the moon, and cut off every form of communication with humankind. Following the traditional depiction of them, Elves in “Warlord” are elevated, benevolent beings who, unlike humanity, know to live in harmony with nature. However, during the final days of the human-Elf conflict, the inherent corruption of humankind also affected Elves, and some of them gave in to violence.
Two hundred years later, after the banishment of the Elves, former elven warlord Elwynn and his novice apprentice, Tyfell, nephew of Queen Bronwynn, are seen hunting in the Forbidden Forest near the city of Lloris and discussing their respective worldviews. Tyfell is young, conflicted, prone to hesitation when it comes to decision-making, and seemingly has a curiosity regarding humans. Elwynn, on the other hand, has witnessed the horrors humanity has to offer and is wise enough to deliberately remain oblivious, reluctant regarding affairs of humankind.
The Elf duo come across Fairy Horn seeds fallen on the ground, and it is revealed that gathering them is considered an auspicious act according to Elvish beliefs, as the seeds hold a spiritual significance for them. However, some of them grow roots and become deadly traps in the process. The significance of the seeds in the movie remains unknown, as the only other time it is mentioned is when Tyfell brings one of these to his close friend, war dancer Elf Vflaxxus.
Anyway, while the Elves have started their lives anew and found peace once again, the humans of Lloris are living under the tyranny of the overseer of the city, known simply as the Sheriff, and his army of tax drivers led by the Brute, who have made the lives of the hard-earning citizens a living hell. Emily, daughter of the former overseer of the city, tries her best to help as many people as possible. Emily’s parents apparently shared a bond with the Elves, and she has been acquainted with Elven customs and belief systems as a part of her birth heritage. Cameron, brother of a local baker named Collette, decides to run away from the city and gets captured by the Brute and his forces near Forbidden Forest. As a punishment for abandoning the settlement, Cameron is punished by castration and then tarred and feathered—and the barbaric brutality is witnessed by Elwynn, his wife Llanofinn, and Tyfell. Before leaving for their realm, Tyfell, Taking pity on Cameron, leaves an apple for him.
Emily tries to convince the Sheriff to dial down the ever-increasing taxes, but her pleas go in vain as the Sheriff instead calls Emily out for her parents’ connection with the Elves. Having ties with Elves is forbidden by law, and if a connection is proven, one has to pay for their sins with their life. The tyrant of an overseer plans to hold the citizens in an inescapable cycle of taxation policy and plans to consign homeless people to eternal servitude. Also, cutting down the Elder tree, a sacred site to Elves, the Sheriff plans to profit from a Dwarven mine full of gemstones located in its underground area. It should be mentioned that Emily knows about the Sheriff’s vile machinations. In his battered state, Cameron somehow makes it back to the city and reveals his interaction with the Elves to Emily. Since the last war between Elves and humankind, Elves were considered extinct, mythical beings. Now, after learning about their possible return, Emily decides to approach them to seek help for taking down the Sheriff and his lackeys. Using an ancient Elvish ritual, Emily summons Llanofinn in the Forbidden Forest and pleads for assistance. Llanofinn, former Elven Master Scout, who has witnessed human atrocities, takes pity on Emily and arranges a meeting with Elwynn the next day.
Why Did Elwynn Change His Mind?
Elwynn appears unwilling to assist Emily , as he deems humanity needs to reap the horrors they sowed in the first place. Emily offers the Elves a chance to take back what is rightfully theirs, i.e., the city of Lloris, by vanquishing the Sheriff and his forces. In the meanwhile, the situation in the city goes awry in the absence of the Sheriff, who has left Lloris to meet the Dwarvenkind to make mining deals with them. The pent-up anger and frustration of the city folks erupts, with them beating up a bunch of tax drivers at the inn, which results in the death of one of Brute’s lackeys. That night, Elwynn decides to pay a visit to Lloris in secret to assess the situation, and witnesses one of the tax drivers raping Collette, as a harrowing form of punishment for setting an attack on the authorities. Elwynn initially decides to walk away, but his moral compass works in the right moment, and he shoots the taxi driver to death.
Distraught by the incident, Elwynn returns to Queen Bronwynn and, explaining the situation, requests her to let him take a band of Elves to rescue the citizens of Lloris. Even though Bronwyn initially hesitates, mentioning the Elves have made peace with the past and there is no need to court a new problem by getting entangled in human affairs, Elwynn reminds her that it is the responsibility of the ones who assume greater power to do right by those who lack it. Bronwynn finally agrees after learning of the prospect of taking Lloris back. Elwynn assembles a small crew consisting of Tyfell, Llanofinn, the Elven Ogre Barshain, and Vflaxxus to venture to the city and take control by defeating the Sheriff’s forces. In the meantime, Emily gets arrested by the Brute for keeping in touch with exiled criminal Cameron and, along with a number of insurrectionists, is to be executed the next day. After learning this, Sam rushes to the Elves, informs them of the situation, and brings them into the city.
Was the Elven Fellowship Able to Save Lloris?
After Barshain and Vflaxxus’ cover gets blown, a battle begins between the tax drivers and the Elven Fellowship. Tyfell frees Emily, who takes up Elwynn’s weapons to square off against the Sheriff’s forces. However, the Sheriff’s tax drivers outnumber the fellowship, and the Sheriff tries to portray Emily as an Elf-sympathizing betrayer of humankind in public. The story takes a wild turn as Emily turns on the fellowship and reveals her true intention to bring them inside the city to have them captured. As it turns out, Emily had learned from the Sheriff that the Elven Warlord was responsible for the deaths of her parents, and since then she harbored deep-seated hatred for Elvenkind. She accuses the Sheriff of secretly forming a partnership with not only dwarves but with Elves as well—and Sam corroborates her statement. However, to Sam’s utter dismay, Emily makes Brute and the rest of the Elf-hating tax drivers turn against the Sheriff and execute him. Just when it seems that the fellowship will meet a similar fate, Llanofinn, in disguise as a tax driver, uses a specialized Dragon’s Warning arrow to create a smoke dragon, which is used as a distraction as the Elves manage to escape. The Brute tries to stop Llanofinn in her tracks, but she manages to kill him without breaking a sweat.
In Warlord’s ending, reaching the safety of the Forbidden Forest, Tyfell lambasts his mentor, Elwynn, for trusting humans and putting the Elves in jeopardy, and mentions the sole reason he took his tutelage was because he will replace his mentor as a warlord in the future. Smarting from the nasty act of betrayal, Elwynn pledges to go to war against humankind in the near future. This indicates that if a sequel entry indeed gets made, an all-out war between humans and Elves will take place, which will determine the fate of Lloris.
