The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim (2024)

"The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim" stars Brian Cox, Gaia Wise, Luke Pasqualino, and Miranda Otto.  Released on December 13, 2024, the film has the King of Rohan and his daughter defending his kingdom against an army of Dunlendings.

The film was directed by Kenji Kamiyama, who also directed "Napping Princess" and several film and television adaptations of "Ghost in the Shell" and "Eden of the East".  It is a prequel to "The Lord of the Rings" film trilogy and is based on the novel The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien.  Middle-earth has its share of legends told across J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy novels.  The most notable ones are the two unlikely hobbits questing to destroy the One Ring and the thirteen Dwarves reclaiming the Lonely Mountain from the vicious dragon Smaug.  These tales made the film adaptations from Peter Jackson some of the most successful and influential cinematic experiences in history, more so for the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy.  However, there are other legends within Middle-earth that were only briefly explored in those movies, as the focus remained primarily on the beloved characters brought to life on screen.

One of those legends was the king of Rohan himself, Helm Hammerhand, who defended his home turf against those threatening to destroy it.  This particular war resulted in Helm becoming a significant inspiration for the Battle of Helm's Deep in "The Two Towers".  At least, that's what I believed based on my research because I haven't watched "Lord of the Rings" as much as others.  The event that occurred before Bilbo Baggins took an unexpected journey became the topic of the long-awaited installment in the iconic fantasy series looking to conquer the holiday season.  However, instead of a live-action film like the others, this movie was made as an anime prequel to capitalize on its scope and even the format's growing popularity.  Seeing that this could reignite a trend of adult animation in theaters, there was no doubt that I would see this style in action.  But is this legend really worth telling regarding its quality?  Let's travel back to Middle-earth and find out.

The story is set 183 years before the events of "The Lord of the Rings".  It tells the tale of Helm Hammerhand (Cox), the hot-tempered king of Rohan who rules over the kingdom with his children.  One of his children is Héra (Wise), a rebellious and tomboy-ish shieldmaiden with a sense of adventure.  The kingdom is then faced with a dangerous threat when Freca (Shaun Dooley), the lord of the Dunlendings with Rohirric blood, arrives to claim the throne from Helm.  When Helm unintentionally murders Freca with a single punch, Freca's ruthless son and Héra's childhood friend, Wulf (Pasqualino), vows revenge against the kingdom and leads his army to take the throne for himself.  With Rohan at war against the Dunlendings, Héra assists Helm in protecting their family and home from the vengeful Wulf. 

I've rarely visited the "Lord of the Rings" movies during my spare time, mainly due to their lengthy runtimes.  I may be a movie buff by surviving three-hour films, but I also have limits.  When I do, I always admired the cultural impact and quality of their storytelling and visual effects, not just as fantasy films but also as cinematic accomplishments for the genre and film industry.  As for the "Hobbit" movies, they're enjoyable in their own right, but I can understand why they're inferior to the classic trilogy regarding the decision to split one book into three films.  Regardless, I admire the franchise's cultural impact through its imaginative world-building and memorable characters, such as Bilbo Baggins, Frodo, Gandalf the Grey, and Gollum.

This led to my intrigue towards "The War of the Rohirrim", which explores a different part of history in Middle-earth in an animation format.  This style hasn't been used in a "Lord of the Rings" adaptation since the 1980 television movie "The Return of the King", so there was a lot riding on it to ensure the franchise's potential for more animated outings.  Most importantly, it would likely determine whether adult animation, let alone anime, could attract a broader audience in theaters compared to television in terms of quality.  But, of course, it isn't without its concerns holding the film back, notably its focus on a different set of characters instead of those like Frodo and Gandalf.  Éowyn (Otto) is the only recurring character from the franchise, serving as the prequel's narrator.  Other than that, the story's primary focus is Helm's daughter, whose tale was less crucial than her father's historical accomplishment in Middle-earth, according to Éowyn.  While it allowed the filmmakers to expand the world-building through a fresh perspective, its storytelling was essential in determining the film's existence.

"The War of the Rohirrim" is a straightforward tale exploring a different part of Middle-earth history that's more than what is explained in the trilogy.  Fortunately, it didn't take three films to portray the war that defined Helm Hammerhand's legend, unlike the "Lord of the Rings" and "The Hobbit".  However, his legend was told through the perspective of his unnamed daughter, Héra, whose resilience and adventurous nature helped turn the tide of the war.  It's an interesting direction that refers to the female protagonists in other anime films, mainly those from Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli.  But does this idea make for another legendary tale worth telling on the big screen?  Well, I would say it'll depend on your expectations.  If you're hoping for it to be on par with the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy quality-wise, I hate to say that this might not fulfill that destiny for you.  However, if you're only looking for another decent entry in the adult animation lineup, "The War of the Rohirrim" suitably provides that, with the visual grandeur and decent storytelling needed to expand the franchise's world-building.

Instead of a large-scale fantasy blockbuster like "Lord of the Rings", "The War of the Rohirrim" is more of a limited and humane reflection of the horrors of war without any mages or hobbits interfering.  Even though it captured the same spirit and grandeur of that trilogy, the film never intends to go bigger with its fight scenes and fantasy elements but instead explores its tragic themes on a smaller scale.  The story displayed the harmful effects of the world's violence, including revenge, which shaped Wulf as a formidable, power-hungry villain who's more monstrous than its creatures.  However, it also reflects hope and honor amid the horrors of war, with Héra representing the kingdom's light in the darkness brought by Wulf.  Both Héra and Wulf symbolize different aspects of a potential ruler. Héra is portrayed as a strong and compassionate character who fights for her people, while Wulf is depicted as a savage and selfish figure who cares more about avenging his father than his own people.

Regarding its screenplay, this is far from the emotional and thematically thought-provoking we've seen in the classic trilogy.  However, it's still a decent attempt at exploring its small-scale themes through the franchise's fantastical aspects.  It had several cliches in its narrative and characters that struggled to reach beyond its storytelling potential, such as Wulf's character arc.  It also ran a few minutes too long despite the two-hour-plus runtime being more bearable than the other installments.  Fortunately, it provided that sense of engagement and heart in its uncomplicated plot that's faithful to the world's underlying mythology.  Kenji Kamiyama was tasked with capturing the grandness and scale of Peter Jackson's trilogy with his limited anime approach.  While his direction often fell short of the emotional impact it was going for, Kamiyama still succeeded in utilizing his style to recapture the beauty and horrors of Middle-earth.  It's certainly not in the same vein as his previous directorial efforts thematic-wise, but his vision usually prevails in displaying a sense of style and immersion in his presentation.

The voice cast also did well with their performances, even though some of their line deliveries were occasionally forced.  Brian Cox commanded his role of Helm Hammerhand with an iron fist, as his performance easily matched the character's hot-tempered and loyal personality.  With someone who has enough fire and kindheartedness in his heart, Brian Cox seemed like the most respectable choice to bring Helm to life, which he proved correct.  Gaia Wise is one of the few names in the cast I was unfamiliar with.  She did appear in a few projects before "War of the Rohirrim", including 2015's "A Walk in the Woods", but they weren't enough to make her a recognizable name in the industry.  Her role as Héra gave her a chance to do so, resulting in a satisfactory turn for the actress.  As mentioned earlier, Héra resembles the female heroes from Hayao Miyazaki's filmography, including "Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind", in which she possesses a rebellious, adventurous, and sympathetic persona that drives her to bring peace to her land.  I wouldn't consider Héra to be as memorable as Nausicaa, but Wise made a worthy effort to capture the character's personality with genuineness and passion.  Luke Pasqualino, best known for his portrayal of Freddie McClair in "Skins", also did a solid job resembling Wulf's rage and vengeful personality, even though one of his line deliveries was a tad weak compared to others.

Finally, we have the film's animation, which was produced by Sola Entertainment.  Sola is known for specializing in CGI animation, but it's also no stranger to traditional animation, having worked on such projects as "Tower of God", "Shenmue: The Animation", and "Ninja Kamui".  Its style reflects the visuals of Peter Jackson's live-action films and provides a unique but challenging approach to its traditional anime presentation.  In addition to the CGI for its environments, the 2D style has a process that consists of actors performing in motion capture, which was translated into 3D animation with Unreal Engine's real-time game engine.  This creates more fluidity in the characters' actions while maintaining the appeal of the film's cinematic hand-drawn animation.  It seemed like a complex process, but it paid off reasonably well, execution-wise.  I have been hearing complaints about the animation looking uneven, which I failed to understand since it's supposed to resemble an anime.  Granted, it had a couple of sequences that looked a tad off, including Freca's movements in the first act.  But for the scenes that successfully blend the 2D and 3D styles, the animation delivered a gorgeous and often horrific display of Middle-earth that captures the awe-inspiring wonder of Jackson's live-action adaptations, whether through its engaging battle sequences or the character-driven drama.  

Overall, "The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim" is a diverting and stylistically compelling addition to the Middle-earth lore that's more entertaining than impactful.  Regarding its poignant approach to its familiarity, it's not exactly the one movie to rule them all.  It also suffered a bit from its beefy runtime, which wasn't as much of a chore as the live-action adaptations but still lengthy considering its simplistic storyline about war and revenge.  However, despite its flaws being bigger than a warrior's mûmak, I was one of the few who actually enjoyed this film. I didn't love it as much as the live-action ones, but I admire it for its small-scale approach to its world-building and anime-influenced presentation.  Even if it doesn't match the storytelling and emotional quality of "The Lord of the Rings" or any other great animated film this year, it is still engaging enough to warrant its mature themes.  The voice cast was also decent in their roles, and the animation was impressive in capturing most of the visual grandeur of Middle-earth and the battle sequences through a unique perspective.  If you're familiar with the franchise and a big softie for anime-inspired projects, this film should provide you with a welcoming return to Middle-earth. But don't expect it to be as spectacular as the live-action installments.

B-