'The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim' Review: A War It Was, Indeed
I'm surprised that they released an animated Lord of the Rings movie, given that the Zaslav-led regime at Warner Bros. keeps constantly pissing on animation. It’s a theatrical film distributed under their name. Hell, I'm surprised they didn't outright shelf it. Middle Earth returning to animation is a beautiful full circle, though. The first feature adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's world was animated, through Arthur Rankin Jr. and Jules Bass' 1977 The Hobbit. But to see LOTR get the anime treatment sounds like something that'd exist in fan art and not in a feature film. Unsurprisingly, this prequel installment, The War of the Rohirrim, proves that Middle Earth is gorgeous in all mediums, even though it's bottled in a rather underwhelming tale.
Image Copyright: © 2024 Warner Bros. Ent.
PG-13: For strong violence
Runtime: 2 Hrs and 14 Minutes
Production Companies: New Line Cinema, Warner Bros. Animation, Sola Entertainment, WingNut Films
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures
Director: Kenji Kamiyama
Writers: Jeffrey Addiss & Will Matthew, Phoebe Gittins & Arty Papageorgiou
Cast: Brian Cox, Gaia Wise, Luke Pasqualino, Miranda Otto
Release Date: December 13, 2024
Héra (Gaia Wise), a self-assured adventurer who spends her days riding her horse across Middle Earth, is the daughter of Helm Hammerhand (Brian Cox), the King of Rohan. But she’d rather take any moniker besides that of a princess. Lord Freca of the Dunlending clan arrives at the Hammerhand house during a council meeting. He offers to strengthen their nations by having his son Wulf (Luca Pasqualino) – Héra's childhood friend – marry Héra. But she doesn't want to marry him, or any man, for that matter, on some aero-ace noise. However, Hammerhand rejects the offer, accusing Freca of using marriage as a ploy to gain the throne. Helm and Freca fist-fight, but after Helm decks Freca in the face once, he dies. Enraged and fueled by vengeance, Wulf declares war on Helm. Realizing that her former friend is gone, Héra must prepare for Wulf's all-out attack that will forever alter the course of Middle Earth.
A[nime] Middle Earth Worth Returning to
The visual splendor of War of the Rohirrim is no surprise. No matter what style it's in, everything is better animated. Middle Earth gets a great stylistic coat of paint from the art directors and production designers, retaining the epic scope while making its style stand out. The backgrounds are lush and meticulously crafted, exemplifying the mood of each scene, and the Tolkien creature designs rendered in this anime-style are captivating.
The film comes alive through Kenji Kamiyama's direction. This guy has directed numerous Ghost in the Shell entries, co-directed the Netflix Ultraman anime series, and that brutal Star Wars: Visions short “The Ninth Jedi.” Brutality is added to War of the Rohirrim like his previous fare. We've seen how violent Middle Earth war can be, but when someone is shot by an arrow, pierced with a sword, or devoured by other creatures, Kamiyama depicts it horrifically. Sometimes the deaths within the battle sequences are more violent than several of Peter Jackson's live-action entries. The end credits also feature pencil sketches of the characters throughout, so that was a nice detail.
Despite Kamiyama's excellent direction, the film can’t maintain consistent motion. We've been spoiled by anime projects today – your Demon Slayer, Spy x Family, Miyazaki fare, and My Hero Academia – that are animated on 1st (24 drawings per second), as opposed to normal 2s or 3s (12 or 8 drawings per second, which means slower motion) that many have grown up watching on TV. Truthfully, there's no reason for a Lord of the Rings anime film to be inconsistent. There are distinct action sequences that feature fluid, kinetic motion, and sometimes the slower motion elevates scenes set in wintry environments. However, it’s increasingly frustrating to follow the film as its smoothness flickers on and off. I wouldn’t be surprised if the production team were given chump change to develop the film, with Warner Bros. execs lowballing them. We've seen the top-notch quality that Kamiyama can provide, and War of the Rohirrim is far from it. The lip-synching can be inconsistent, and the editing can be choppy. Furthermore, the story is the least interesting within the LOTR franchise.
We Can't All Be Nausicaä
The House of Hammerhand clan has to be the dullest characters we've seen within the Tolkien cinematic realm. Though the film is meant to expand on Tolkien's Anglo-Saxon-inspired culture and hardships, the story is simply a retread of Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (the second this year, after Twisters) and Princess Mononoke, but without any of the environmentalism or bland characterizations, and not enough Middle Earth flair to make it exciting. Even though it's nice to see a female protagonist in a Lord of the Rings movie, Héra doesn't have much personality. I would say that she falls somewhere between Merida from Brave and Nausicaä. However, she lacks a connection to her nature and is not sufficiently headstrong to be intriguing. You're left with a Mary Sue.
The same extends to the rest of her family and the main antagonist Wulf, who is simply a man fueled by a vendetta. All except for Helm Hammerhand. The writers successfully portray the most powerful King in Rohan, largely due to his assertive, masculine demeanor, sophisticated design, and Brian Cox's commanding vocal performance. Cox easily turns any line reading into wine and whenever Helm is onscreen, you're wide awake. In one instance, Helm tells Freca before they fight, "Boys do not brawl in their own house, but men are freer outside." It's the manliest thing you’ve ever heard.
The titular war is not very interesting. Apart from Helm, all of the participants are drab and the narrative plods like molasses to chronicle the extent of the Rohan war. Éowyn (Miranda Otto) narrates the story like a storybook, and at a certain point, it's like, can she skip some pages? The script by Jeffrey Addiss, Will Matthews, Phoebe Gittins, and Arty Papageorgiou plays as a hodge podge of drafts too anxious and unsure to be true to Tolkien's spirit without taking any chances to add new flair to the story that complements the medium. And despite loving animated movies that clock in at over two hours, War of the Rohirrim doesn't have the juice to warrant its 134-minute runtime.
Final Thoughts
War of the Rohirrim is a textbook example of “what you see is what you get”: a Lord of the Rings movie about a war. Under the direction of Kamiyama, one is enticed into an occasionally epic and action-packed cinematic anime experience. However, the generic characters, inadequate pacing, and inconsistent animated movement result in a middling return to Middle Earth. However, I did walk away hoping to see more Lord of the Rings narratives told through Kamiyama's lens. Just give him a bigger budget and better writers next time.
Rating: 2.5/5
