movie

War of the Rohirrim: the Prequel No One Asked For

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Lord of the Rings: War of the Rohirrim Review

Lord of the Rings is one of the most famous fantasy series of all time. But it’s also a series to which I’ve never fully committed myself. I understand the broader strokes behind it, but the lore is so thick even I’ve found it hard to keep track of everything. Still, I appreciate the impact it’s had on fiction over the last century, and there’s no denying that the Peter Jackson films are the gold standard for the high fantasy genre. Thanks to that, and due to my undying love of anime, I was willing to give the anime film, Lord of the Rings: War of the Rohirrim, a chance.

There’s no easy way to say this…it’s not that good of a movie. At least not compared to the Peter Jackson films.

Who Asked for this Film?

Set two hundred years before the events of The Lord of The Rings, War of the Rohirrim is, in a nutshell, the story of how the stronghold of Helm’s Deep got its name. It’s told from the perspective of Héra Hammerhand, daughter of the stronghold’s namesake and a character so important, her name is lost to history. When the arrogant father of her childhood friend, Wulf, tries to seek her hand in marriage to his son, the two dad’s come to blows. When Helm kills Wulf’s father with a single punch, Wulf snaps and vows revenge. What follows is something that TV Tropes describes as amounting to a manchild throwing a huge tantrum because he didn’t get what he wanted.

If my opinion about Wulf as an antagonist doesn’t sound that high, that’s because it isn’t. Wulf is not a great villain in this film, and much of it can be attributed to poor writing. At the start, Wulf goes along with his father’s marriage proposal because he genuinely loves Héra. However, despite father Freca making it obvious that this is a play for the throne, and thus brought his death upon himself, Wulf refuses to acknowledge this fact. More importantly, his feelings of inferiority towards Héra make him take her rejecting the proposal far more personally than he should have. I know no one likes the “it’s not you, it’s me” line, but in this case, it really was Héra. She had no interest in marrying at all, valuing her freedom too much to be tied down. Instead of moving on and trying to find another woman, though, Wulf obsesses over her and lets that love grow into a spiteful hatred. I’ve seen antagonists who were obsessed with revenge and hate before, and Wulf doesn’t bring anything new to it.

Then we have Héra, our main protagonist. Despite appearing in Tolkien’s lore for the series, she’s barely mentioned, to the point where she’s not even named. She is, in essence, a character created solely for the film. And from I’ve seen in the film and what I’ve heard, she was heavily inspired by the strong female leads in Hayao Miyazaki. She does have that type of character down. She’s a strong-willed, independent young woman who is more than capable of taking care of herself, much like of Miyazaki’s female leads. Unfortunately for her, there’s one difference between her and characters like San, Nausicaa, Chihiro, and others. That difference is that, in the context of their stories, their gender is not that big a deal. However, for Héra, her gender is a big deal.

The film establishes early on that, despite being the most capable of Helm’s three kids (the other two are sons) and adored by her father, Hera still faces the sexist views of a medieval world. Ignoring what she has to say is what ends up leading to events playing out as they do in Tolkien’s history. It’s only when people start taking her seriously that she proves capable of saving the people of Rohan from certain destruction. Unfortunately for her, Game of Thrones already beat Héra in the “badass female warrior-leader” department years ago with characters like Danaerys Targaryen and Arya Stark. And Arya has a body count that numbers in the tens of thousands by the time the show ended! Héra’s got nothing on Arya!

Not that Good a Film

It’s not just the story and the characters that I have a problem with, though; it’s the animation. While I cannot deny that the animators did a great job trying to make Middle-Earth as breath-taking as fans remember, when it comes to the characters, they fall short. The way they move is stiff more often than not. Their facial expressions, often a big part of anime, aren’t that deep. And when they do fight (which isn’t as much as you would think), it’s not as exciting as you would think. Ignoring the fact that they had to stick to the established world and how battles are fought, the fights here pale in comparison to the films. As someone who sees animation as a means for us to transcend the limits of live-action, I consider that particularly egregious! Why did they even bother making this an anime film?

On paper, the idea of a Lord of the Rings anime film was a good idea. However, when it comes to the execution, War of the Rohirrim seemed to fall short for me. While some hardcore fans of Tolkien’s world might like it, for a more casual fan, like me, this film doesn’t do much to interest me. If you like Lord of the Rings, it might be worth seeing this in theaters or streaming whenever it’s out. Otherwise, I think you can pass on it.

I Give Lord of the Rings: War of the Rohirrim a 2.5/5

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 Is Coming!

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RJ Writing Ink’s Reaction to First Sonic the Hedgehog 3 Trailer

It took an entire season’s worth of waiting, but our patience has been rewarded. The first Sonic the Hedgehog 3 trailer is out, and the fans are overjoyed. Considering what we got in the stinger for the last film, we have every right to be overjoyed. We’re getting Sonic Adventure 2!

Sonic Adventure 2 is the GOAT. Change My Mind

Sonic the Hedgehog’s video games have varied in quality over the years, but most can agree that the original games on the Sega consoles were peak. And the best of them all was, arguably, Sonic Adventure 2. The opening level is one of the best in video game history, the music is filled with absolute bangers, and the darker and more mature storyline still holds up well. That, and you can’t tell me that final boss fight is the definition of awesome. Needless to say, our expectations for this film are pretty high. Thankfully, this first trailer has done an excellent job of demonstrating that it’s going to work hard to meet them.

From the outset, the trailer makes it clear that, like its prequel, Sonic 3 won’t be a beat-for-beat adaptation of the video games. While that shouldn’t be too big a surprise, I did like how Sonic’s role in the film is initially reversed from the game. Instead of being on the run from GUN, they’re being smart and asking him for his help stopping Shadow. But as the trailer makes painfully apparent, Team Sonic is still being prepared for Shadow. And as the trailer continues, things only get worse.

Shadow is Not a Joke

Shadow might be mocked online and called an edgelord and the hedgehog version of Vegeta, but as the trailer takes great pains to remind us, he’s still super dangerous. It doesn’t make it clear if Shadow is an artificial life-form like in the games or if he’s another alien like Team Sonic, but if it’s the latter, then it only makes his status as Sonic’s anithesis all the more apparent. Whereas Sonic found friends and acceptance on Earth, Shadow’s backstory remains in full effect for the movie. And if you played the games or saw the videos, you know how bad that is.

And yes, the rumors were true: Keanu Reeves is voicing Shadow.

Even better, though? Dr. Eggman is back!!

JIM CARREY IS BACK!!!

After Sonic 2 came out, Jim Carrey claimed that he seriously considered retiring from acting after bringing Dr. Robotnik to the big screen. And I don’t blame him. After being one of the big-name comedic actors in the 90s and 2000s, the man almost fell off the grid. His playing Eggman was his best role in years! I put it up there with Ace Ventura and The Mask for him! I would be sad if he wanted to retire, but understand he’d like to end things on a high note. Thankfully, not only is he coming back, but he’s also playing another character that I don’t think anyone expected.

None of us know why Gerald Robotnik is still alive in the film, but it’s a pretty big twist, considering what he does in the video games. Plus, it gives Jim to show off by playing alongside himself. And, his Gerald Robotnik reminds me of when he played the Grinch, but without that weird Sean Connery lisp.

I don’t know why Paramount and Sega decided to wait until less than three months before the film comes out to release the trailer, but they do a good job of making up for lost time. I follow many people in the entertainment industry on social media, and many of them are as excited about this film as the rest of the fans. However, it will be going up against Disney’s Mufasa in the box office. I love The Lion King, but I have yet to see the need for the CGI remake or this prequel. So, let’s ensure that Sonic blows that film out of the water! After that, we can worry about whether Paramount should make more Sonic movies.

Also, if the climax doesn’t have “Live and Learn” then I’m gonna so mad!

Rachael Lillis, the Original Voice of Misty and Jessie from ‘Pokemon’, Has Died

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Rachael Lillis, the OG Voice Actress for Pokemon’s Misty and Jessie, Has Passed Away From Breast Cancer

This might be one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to write for this blog, but it needs to be done. This monday, it was publicly announced that Rachael Lillis, the legendary voice actress and original voice of Misty and Jessie, passed away on Saturday, August 10th. She was 46 years old.

A professional voice actress, people best knew Rachael for her time with the Pokémon franchise. When 4Kids started dubbing the anime in the West, Rachael was part of the original cast. For eight years, she provided the voice to both Misty, the water-type Pokémon trainer with a fiery temper, and Jessie, the lovable villainess of Team Rocket. She was also the voice behind multiple Pokemon, with Jigglypuff being the most notable. To the best of my knowledge, they still use archival recordings of her for Jigglypuff to this day.

Earlier this year, I had reported how Rachael had developed breast cancer that had since spread to other parts of her body, leaving her barely able to walk on her own. Several of her relatives and colleagues set up a GoFundMe to get the money to move her to a better facility, and many spread the word about it on social media. As hopeful as I wanted to be, I knew she wasn’t long for this world. But…I didn’t expect us to lose her this soon.

I don’t need to spend time explaining just how important Rachael, Misty, and Jessie were to me. Watching Pokemon was what got me into anime. I retroactively consider Misty to be my first anime waifu ever. Watching how she could go from being sweet and friendly with Ash and Brock to being ballistic was so much fun, and it made for a big part of the show’s appeal to me. As a 90s/2000s kid, losing her is like a massive gut punch. I’m barely able to keep myself from crying as I write this; it’s beyond devastating.

Fans and colleagues are mourning Rachael’s passing all across the Internet, and it is heartbreaking to read. She was one of those early pioneers of anime in the West, and while others went on to voice her characters, to me, she was the only Misty and Jessie that I needed.

Rest in peace, Rachael. You were a real one, and I’ll never forget you as Misty for as long as I live.