The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim
(2024)
The Lord of the Rings: THE WAR OF THE ROHIRRIM š°
Peter Jackson and his team behind the Lord of the Rings trilogy have returned to Middle Earth, this time teaming up with anime director Kenji Kamiyama (Ghost in the Shell S.A.C., Ultraman, Star Wars: Visions) to explore the history of Rohan and their mighty King Helm Hammerhead (Brian Cox - Succession).
The War of the Rohirrim is narrated by Ćowyn, niece to King Theodan from the original trilogy, who tells the story of the invasion that pushed the Rohirrim people out of their kingdom and the shield maiden, warrior Princess of Rohan HĆ©ra, who stood tall against the Dunlending army that fought to usurp her fatherās throne.
As someone who grew up with the original Lord of the Rings trilogy on repeat and is now a massive anime fan, this has been one of my most anticipated watches since the moment I heard it was being made. Even though my feelings towards the 2010 Hobbit trilogy were quite negative, thereās no denying Peter Jacksonās vision when it comes to the overall look and feel of J.R.R. Tolkienās Middle Earth.
This time around he takes on the role of executive producer while passing the creative reins to anime director Kenji Kamiyama, who is able to create a sense of familiarity by replicating the world of the original trilogy into anime form. That sense of familiarity that you feel while watching THE WAR OF THE ROHIRRIM is reinforced by an epic score that gives this the grand fantasy feel the world of Middle Earth deserves.
The one worry I had going into this (something my fellow anime watchers can attest to) is whether Iād be able to enjoy watching the English-dubbed version over the Japanese because of the issues I always have with anime and the over-the-top delivery in the English version. That was not the case with this.
Thereās an extra level of immersion that these vocal performances provided that really helped blend the regal animation style with the aesthetic of Middle Earth and the overall scope and scale of the film.
At the helm (pun intended) of this story is Rohanās King Helm Hammerhead, voiced by Succession's Brian Cox, who delivers a powerfully commanding performance that I think the writers felt would elevate weaker parts of the story, but it instead magnified the weakestāthe plot.
THE WAR OF THE ROHIRRIM is pulling from the appendices of Tolkienās work and expands on the lore behind the first familial line of Rohan kings. There isnāt much to work with in regard to what was written, so there was a lot of filling in the gaps that needed to be done, and though there are a ton of memorable moments in this movie, how they got to each moment at times felt head-scratchingly uninspired.
What gets everything started is the rumblings of a marriage proposal between Helms daughter HĆ©ra and one of Gondorās heirs. The Dunlendings look to shoot their shot at a chance to tie their own family to the throne, failing to do so, leading to a duel between Helm and Freca of Dunlending that gives us a One Punch Man moment that had the entire theatre chuckling at the ease and confusion of what just happened.
As the movie progresses, that moment becomes easier to gloss over because of how great the performances are, but it makes what couldāve potentially been a great movie into just a good one.
Iām just glad that it was successful in demonstrating that anime can be a medium worthy of telling an epic story of this scale, because despite its flaws, I found myself swept up in a world Iāve come to know and love.
Lord of the Rings: THE WAR OF THE ROHIRRIM is an audacious attempt at expanding the lore of Middle Earth, and though the plot lacks an intangible flair, the world and characters in it do more than enough to serve up a fantasy story worthy of the big screen.
Enjoy!
7.1/10 šæ š„
Runtime: 2hr14mins
Where: Now Playing In Theatres
The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim Review (2024) The Richmond Reviewer -Ā December 14th, 2024
#LOTR #LordoftheRings #MovieReview #Movie #Anime #Animation #WaroftheRohirrim Ā #WarnerBros