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 itโs also a series to which Iโve never fully committed myself. I understand the broader strokes behind it, but the lore is so thick even Iโve found it hard to keep track of everything. Still, I appreciate the impact itโs had on fiction over the last century, and thereโs 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.
Thereโs no easy way to say thisโฆitโs 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 Helmโs Deep got its name. Itโs told from the perspective of Hรฉra Hammerhand, daughter of the strongholdโs 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 dadโs come to blows. When Helm kills Wulfโs 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 didnโt get what he wanted.
If my opinion about Wulf as an antagonist doesnโt sound that high, thatโs because it isnโt. 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 fatherโs marriage proposal because he genuinely loves Hรฉra. 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 Hรฉra make him take her rejecting the proposal far more personally than he should have. I know no one likes the โitโs not you, itโs meโ line, but in this case, it really was Hรฉra. 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. Iโve seen antagonists who were obsessed with revenge and hate before, and Wulf doesnโt bring anything new to it.
Then we have Hรฉra, our main protagonist. Despite appearing in Tolkienโs lore for the series, sheโs barely mentioned, to the point where sheโs not even named. She is, in essence, a character created solely for the film. And from Iโve seen in the film and what Iโve heard, she was heavily inspired by the strong female leads in Hayao Miyazaki. She does have that type of character down. Sheโs a strong-willed, independent young woman who is more than capable of taking care of herself, much like of Miyazakiโs female leads. Unfortunately for her, thereโs 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 Hรฉra, her gender is a big deal.
The film establishes early on that, despite being the most capable of Helmโs 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 Tolkienโs history. Itโs 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 Hรฉra in the โbadass female warrior-leaderโ 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! Hรฉraโs got nothing on Arya!
Not that Good a Film
Itโs not just the story and the characters that I have a problem with, though; itโs 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, arenโt that deep. And when they do fight (which isnโt as much as you would think), itโs 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 Tolkienโs world might like it, for a more casual fan, like me, this film doesnโt do much to interest me. If you like Lord of the Rings, it might be worth seeing this in theaters or streaming whenever itโs out. Otherwise, I think you can pass on it.
I Give Lord of the Rings: War of the Rohirrim a 2.5/5
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