Bilbo Baggins once wrote that “the old that is strong does not wither.” Well, Lord of the Rings is over 70 years old, and War of the Rohirrim may be a worrying (but beautifully crafted, often entertaining) omen for a franchise looking to justify itself.
Peter Jackson directed three of the greatest, most monumental movies in cinema history with the Lord of the Rings trilogy. He tried, and failed, to recapture the wonder of Middle-earth with The Hobbit movies, needlessly chopped up and full of garish VFX (lest we forget Legolas defying gravity more than Wicked’s Elphaba).
Regrettably, the series has become a hotbed for insufferable finger-wagging and pedantry after Amazon’s Rings of Power. Admittedly, its first season was a bit iffy, but Season 2 was extraordinary, and perhaps the most vivid and compelling interpretation of Tolkien’s texts since the original films.
Jackson, Phillipa Boyens and co. have since returned to the fold. They’re making at least two more live-action movies (starting with The Hunt for Gollum). It could be an attempt to sway contemptuous fans back to the fold, or perhaps it’s just about money, or maybe – just maybe – they have good stories to tell. Unfortunately, War of the Rohirrim isn’t quite a testament to the latter hope.
What is LOTR: The War of the Rohirrim about?
“All of Middle-earth [and the real world, let’s be honest] knows the tale of the One Ring,” Miranda Otto’s Éowyn narrates. “But there are others… tales that light a path through the dark.”
Set over 180 years before the events of the Fellowship of the Ring, the movie follows Héra (Gaia Wise), the “headstrong, wild” daughter of Helm Hammerhand (Brian Cox), the king of Rohan – he won’t admit it, but he’s “proud of his tearaway daughter,” Éowyn says, and while you won’t find her name in the “old tales… by her hand, many great deeds were done.”
Everything seems swell in Edoras, but one punch starts a war. Freca (Shaun Dooley), a Dunlending lord with Rohirric blood (and a clear disdain for Helm) hears that Héra may be marrying a Gondorian prince. He proposes she marry Wulf (Luke Pasqualino), her childhood friend, instead.
Helm turns him down, leading to a fight – a generous description, considering Helm haymakers Freca and kills him. Wulf is furious and vows to avenge his father’s death, lighting the fuse of the titular war.
Lord of the Rings is perfect for anime
Let me say this outright: War of the Rohirrim looks and sounds spectacular, with an eye-popping, vibrant blend of different styles; you can see Attack on Titan (both Weta and MAPPA worked on the visuals), Studio Ghibli, and even Ralph Bakshi’s original Lord of the Rings movie.
The landscapes are breathtaking, Stephen Gallagher’s score bows its head to Howard Shore’s irreplaceable compositions while sprinkling its own melodies, and Kenji Kamiyama doesn’t merely try to emulate Jackson’s staging and direction – this feels like a unique entry in the LOTR canon; epic, but gorgeous in a way only this medium can allow.
Here, the Mûmakil (the big elephants) are terrifying, fury-eyed beasts, the Great Eagles are great (the best animated birds since The Rescuers: Down Under – yes, really), and we even get a slimy, enormous Watcher in the Water that’s slickly brought to life.
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The action is generally well-done, if not always that exciting; anime has some of the most dynamic set pieces across movies and television, and outside of its world-building and general presentation, War of the Rohirrim doesn’t maximize its potential (Helm Hammerhand aside).
War of the Rohirrim’s story is uninspiring
Here’s the thing: War of the Rohirrim isn’t for the rookies, nor does it feel like a deep-cut Tolkien story (because it isn’t). Excluding Éowyn’s vague narration, it operates on the assumption that you not only know about Rohan and Gondor, but you care about their pasts, their lineages, and the political tensions that lie between the two allied kingdoms.
That onus shouldn’t be on us, it’s on the filmmakers, and this movie fails where its predecessors (even The Hobbit films) succeeded. It’s not that it’s missing any connections to the main Lord of the Rings saga (its references are admirably restrained, and each one works better than the last), it just struggles to communicate why this story is worthy of our attention.
There’s a blatant message in here – if men don’t curb their arrogance, it could be their downfall – but it’s tritely conveyed, a consequence of a film that’s fast-paced but lacks impact in its momentum.
For example, Helm Hammerhand is immediately likable (mainly due to Cox’s wonderful voice performance), but do I feel like I know him as I did Gandalf, Frodo, Sam, and the rest of the Fellowship?
This is a writing issue, and one character stands out: I’m sorry, but Héra is a dull lead, and it’s obvious that the movie was written around a character with almost no basis in the source material. She may be “headstrong and wild”, but we barely get a sense of who she is; everyone loves her, she’s a talented fighter, she’s not interested in getting married… and that’s about it. By Wise’s own admission, she’s not a “fully-formed woman” – but she’s not a fully-formed character, either.
Dexerto review score: 3/5 – Good
If nothing else, War of the Rohirrim is a proof of concept; we need more Lord of the Rings animes from Tolkien’s legendarium.
However, striking animation and a charming vocal ensemble aside, it feels regrettably forgettable – entertaining in the moment, but dispensable. If “all we have to do is decide what to do with the time that is given to us,” I’d rather wait for something better.
Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim will hit cinemas on December 13. Check out what we know about Rings of Power Season 3, how to get the War of the Rohirrim popcorn bucket, and for more information on how we score TV shows and movies, check out our scoring guidelines here.
