What’s It About
A sudden attack by Wulf, a ruthless Dunlending lord, forces Helm Hammerhand and his people to make a daring last stand in the ancient stronghold of the Hornburg. Finding herself in an increasingly desperate situation, Helm’s daughter, Héra, must lead the resistance against a deadly enemy who’s intent on total destruction.
MOVIESinMO REVIEW
“The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim” struggles to recapture the magic of the first trilogy that made it loved. This animated prequel doesn’t even come close to living up to expectations and is likely only to please die-hard fans of the epic series. The picture arrives with some hefty pedigree, with investment from figures behind the original film series, where producer Philippa Boyens is a writer of the original “The Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit” trilogies. Even Peters Jackson and Fran Walsh are named executive producers. Initially, there were some hopes that this would be a worthy companion to the franchise. That hope was dashed with the final product. The story focuses on Héra, a princess of Rohan who is very much a rebel, breaking from traditional expectations. She’s no standard royal daughter; instead of waiting around to marry a suitable prince, she wants a life of heroic grandeur, for she is trained in sword-fighting and horse-riding. The conflicts involving her family and looming war would ensue; King Helm Hammerhand would disbelieve his daughter’s skills because she was a girl. Before long, this premise sounds exciting, because the story, at least at first, appears to address women’s rights and gender expectations in a fantasy construct. On an epic scale, the main story is about Héra and her family’s bitter conflict with Wulf-a vengeful lord whose marriage proposal was rejected by Héra’s father. All hell broke loose after Héra told Wulf, “I do not want to marry any man,” thus triggering a chain of unknowing events leading to war. While this sounds dramatic, the execution is disappointingly flat. The reason for Wulf’s hatred stems from a somewhat unknown history of tension, with his mixed Rohirrim and Dunlending heritage seemingly being a source of conflict with King Helm. The film’s biggest problems are its generic characters and predictable storyline. Héra and her brothers are almost too perfect, lacking the depth and complexity that made the characters in the original Lord of the Rings so memorable. The villain, Wulf, feels more like a cardboard cutout of a bad guy than a fully realized character. This is particularly frustrating given the rich character development Tolkien was known for in his original works. Visually, the movie is a letdown. Despite being an animated film with endless creative possibilities, the animation feels uninspired, choppy, and basic. It’s almost as if they wanted to use rotoscoping, and then sudenly changed their minds a third of the way in. For the first two-thirds of the movie, there’s little that couldn’t have been done in a live-action film. The battle scenes, which should be the highlight of any fantasy epic, come across as formulaic and unexciting. The use of anime as a means to this end is appealingly interesting, but never put to use enough. There’s an endless chance that the animation offers in creativity—both story and visually; but often, “The War of the Rohirrim” sticks to what many are used to doing storytelling-wise. Where did these creatively outrageous scenes come from in your animated version? For being original, the movie falls back on the standard safety route. One positive is the link to the original trilogy. Miranda Otto, who played Éowyn in the live-action films, also returns as the narrator. Her inclusion implies that Héra’s story might have served as the inspiration for the legendary Shieldmaiden Éowyn, a nice little nod to longtime fans. That throughline in the narrative is arguably the most interesting part of the whole film. The voice acting does little to lift the material. The performances, in general, are flat and fail to bring any energy to the already vapid dialogue. Even with talents like Brian Cox voicing King Helm, the characters just never seem to come to life. That wonderful cast is wasted on a script that doesn’t give them much to do. It strains to honor Tolkien’s themes—hope and resilience—but just doesn’t quite make it. Absence of magical creatures, a detailed world that made the original series unique, made this film feel quite empty. None of the elves, no dwarves, no hobbits—only a generic battle royale fantasy setup medieval style that could happen in any fantasy kingdom. For those wanting an amazing addition to the Lord of the Rings universe, “The War of the Rohirrim” will be just a huge disappointment. It does not have the wonder, complexity, and emotional depth that made Peter Jackson’s original trilogy very popular worldwide. While it may still please dedicated fans or lovers of animation, most viewers will be checking their watches and waiting for something exciting to happen. It’s important to mention that expanding the Rohan mythology is a big goal. The horse lords are one of the most interesting cultures in Tolkien’s world, so a closer look at their history could have been great. Instead, we get just a simple look that doesn’t add much to our understanding of this rich, fictional world. In the final analysis, this movie does show that not every tale from a beloved series is worth recounting. Sometimes, it’s better to leave some histories in the margins of the original text. “The War of the Rohirrim” serves as a reminder that great source material doesn’t automatically translate to a great film. Fans hoping for another magical journey through Middle-earth will need to look elsewhere.
OUR RATING – A HAMMERHAND 5.5