The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim (PG-13)
24/01/25 00:48 Filed in: 2024
Starring: Brian Cox
December 2024
Warning! This is NOT a movie review. This is a critique of the film. Intended to initiate a dialogue, the following analysis explores various aspects of the film and may contain spoilers. For concerns over objectionable content, please first refer to one of the many parental movie guide websites. Ratings are based on a four star system. Happy reading!
Set nearly 200 years before J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings books, The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim is an animated adventure helmed by journeyman anime director Kenji Kamiyama. This foray into Middle-Earth focuses on the King of Rohan, Helm Hammerhand (voiced by Brian Cox), and his family, who fight to defend their realm against an army of bloodthirsty avengers known as the Dunlendings.
The story—written by Jeffrey Addiss, Will Matthews and Philippa Boyens—is based on narrative elements found in the appendices of The Return of the King, the final book in Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Other than brief run-ins with a handful of fantasy creatures that later appear in Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings movies, the bulk of the story involves warring human (humanoid?) tribes, whose petty and violent actions completely justify Elrond’s pessimistic appraisal of men in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001): “scattered, divided, leaderless.” The largely human-centric, magic-free story makes Rohirrim a unique chapter in the Middle-Earth saga.
Though the animation in Rohirrim is consistently superb, the hand-drawn characters tend to clash against the near-photorealistic landscapes. Many familiar locations from the Rings movies appear here, including Edoras, Isengard and Helm’s Deep. All are finely-rendered and may produce feelings of nostalgia for fans of Jackson’s Rings films.
While its efforts to transform young ingenue, Hera (Gaia Wise), into an action hero (a la the younger Galadriel in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power) are overdetermined, the story, on balance, is quite good. Rohirrim is a reverent attempt at portraying the fantasy, characters, trappings and tropes Tolkien first created in The Hobbit (1937).
Though fairly appropriate for kids, the movie doesn’t cater to them. To its credit, the film doesn’t employ a Disney-style sidekick to infuse the story with comic relief. To its detriment, the film is serious to the point of being dire. An animated movie need not be kiddie, but shouldn’t it at least be a little fun? Rohirrim is devoid of anything that even hints at levity and, from all indications, its characters are allergic to humor.
The film’s strong suit is its well-executed action sequences. Powerful and perfectly paced, without becoming protracted, the movie’s action beats help move the story forward without dominating it or detracting from it. Though decidedly violent, the action scenes here are surprisingly less bloody than those in the earlier animated The Lord of the Rings (1978).
Composer Stephen Gallagher turns in an excellent score for Rohirrim, which briefly employs Howard Shore’s main theme and The Riders of Rohan motif from the Rings films. While capturing the essence of Shore’s work, Gallagher creates a wholly original, dynamic and effecting sound tapestry.
Though far less goofy than the animated movies produced in the late 70s and early 80s based on Tolkien’s works, Rohirrim lacks the charm, whimsy and magic of those other animated efforts. Still, Rohirrim serves as a quality prequel to The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and is a worthy entry into the Middle-Earth mythos.
Will this film earn enough money to justify a sequel? Time will tell. But for the moment, Middle-Earth is at peace.
Rating: 3 out of 4