Like a Nazgûl flying overhead, Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy has cast a shadow over the new film The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim. Although it does its best to distinguish itself in many ways as its own entity (namely, by being an animated film), it can’t help but invite comparisons to one of the greatest trilogies in film history. The War of the Rohirrim borrows design elements, geographical details, and even some of Howard Shore’s legendary music from Jackson’s films. And if that wasn’t enough, the big fat “Middle-earth Enterprises” logo in the end credits is a huge reminder to audiences that this film is very much part of what came before, despite being set nearly 200 years before Bilbo Baggins ever touched that damn ring. Its existence is certainly something to applaud – studios are all too happy to grind beloved IP to dust in search of nostalgia-driven profits with half-hearted reboots and sequels (see: Fantastic Beasts, the current state of the MCU, and even Jackson’s own The Hobbit series). The fact that the first major film to take place in Middle-earth in a decade is an anime based on appendices written by J. R. R. Tolkien with no major celebrity voice actors (apologies to Brian Cox) feels comparatively daring. And yet, despite its gorgeous animation, it never quite makes a case for its own existence by failing to simply tell an enthralling, impactful story in an invigorating way.
The film opens with a map of Middle-earth and dramatic narration, exactly like The Fellowship of the Ring. Instead of Cate Blanchett, however, Miranda Otto voices the prologue as Éowyn, her fan favorite character first introduced in The Two Towers. She introduces our main character Héra (Gaia Wise), the headstrong daughter of the king of Rohan, Helm Hammerhand (Cox). In fact, her personality and background strongly resemble Éowyn’s. As the narrator says, “The girl could ride a horse before she could walk.” The story begins with a council being called, wherein Freca (Shaun Dooley), a local lord with eyes on Helm’s throne, forcefully offers up his son Wulf (Luke Pasqualino) as a potential husband to Héra. Both she and her father are appalled by the power move, and Helm challenges Freca to combat to reassert his monarchical dominance. In the ensuing brawl, Helm inadvertently kills Freca with a single hit, and subsequently banishes Wulf from Rohan. Wulf, the former childhood friend of Héra, suddenly finds himself consumed with rage and vows to have his revenge. After some time, Héra discovers that Wulf is no idle threat and in fact has been concocting plans that may lead to the end of her father’s reign, putting her own life at risk.
With a set-up like this and the epic-sounding title, the film makes a promise of huge action set pieces and spectacular combat that’s oddly never quite fulfilled. Yes, there are a handful of battle sequences, but none of them are portrayed in a fully captivating way. Anime has been at the forefront of animation aimed at adults, often unafraid to show violence without limits and depicted in perversely creative ways. This makes it even more notable that most of the action in The War of the Rohirrim feels pretty standard. The swordplay, hand-to-hand combat, and uses of other types of weaponry feel limp, never inspiring awe or even feeling particularly thrilling. In fact, most of the skirmishes end quite hastily with a retreat or a command to fall back, making the action feel strangely neutered.
Like all of Tolkien’s works, The War of the Rohirrim features many characters with fantastical names. Thankfully, the film is very clear with its individuals’ characterizations and motivations, making it easy for the audience to follow. Héra is the kind of heroic central figure who’s impossible not to root for from the minute we first meet her bravely coming face-to-face with a giant eagle. Even though she’s in a position of privilege as the daughter of the king, she still finds herself underestimated by those around her just because of her gender. Of course, this makes her even more of a sympathetic character, but the film never pities her. Wise’s authoritative voice performance further sells the idea that she’s someone to be taken seriously. Unsurprisingly, Brian Cox creates an intimidating kingly figure with Helm Hammerhand (that’s gotta be the coolest character name in any 2024 release). Yet, even though he dismisses Héra, there’s never any doubt that he loves his daughter and will fight to the death for her safety.
These characters are not only well-drawn internally, they’re literally well-drawn. The animation throughout the film is unquestionably, consistently gorgeous. The characters are all designed in distinctive ways with highly expressive emotive abilities. All of the locations and backgrounds are rendered in lush, gorgeous detail and the select moments of CGI animation are used sparingly yet wisely to add a sense of grand scale and depth. Despite the beauty of the animation itself, the film disappointingly avoids creating the types of singular, impressive screen images that are usually found in films of this nature, regardless of medium. This may have to do with the fact that much of the film keeps the “camera” close to the characters and action, not often pulling back to give viewers an appropriate sense of the story’s huge scope. This, combined with the unexciting action sequences, makes the movie feel oddly small and unimpactful.
Part of what makes the original live action The Lord of the Rings trilogy so effective, with a legacy that remains firmly in place over two decades after its release, is the films’ ability to reverberate with audiences and their non-fiction experiences. Despite being set in a fantastical world of magical wizards and flying demonic creatures, the films’ greatest strength is their relatable themes of the importance of deep personal bonds and the power of unification against those who’d do harm. The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim eschews such resonant connections to our real world, instead favoring broad, unoriginal discussions of heroism and bravery. By the time the credits roll, it feels as if over two hours has been spent on a story that only approaches moments of relevance, with its slow pace and frankly dull battles continuously, increasingly dragging it down. It puts the “mid” in “Middle-earth.”
Grade: C+
The film will be distributed theatrically worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, released in cinemas nationwide on December 13, 2024.
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