When you sit down to watch The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim there’s no mistake it’s a Lord of the Rings movie. The music, the cinematography, the voiceover, everything about it was carefully and smartly designed to fit in seamlessly with the blockbuster, Oscar-winning live-action films we know and love. And that nostalgia only helps amp up the story which is already rather sweeping and epic.
What happens, though, is you begin to question why you’re watching this at all. In a medium where anything is possible, set in a world with wizards, dragons, and immortality, is animation adding anything to this story? Is it showing something that you’d never see in live-action? And the answer, for The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, is basically that it isn’t. It’s a disconnect that holds a very good film back from being the classic its franchise demands.
Directed by Kenji Kamiyama, from a script by Jeffrey Addiss, Will Matthews, Phoebe Gittins, and Arty Papageorgio, The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim is set about 200 years before the events of The Hobbit. It focuses on the people of Rohan, mainly the family of King Helm Hammerhand (Brian Cox), a strong, well-liked ruler. When the king mistakenly kills a rival through, the rival’s son Wulf (Luke Pasqualino) vows revenge, setting off a chain reaction that will change Rohan forever.
Central to the story is Hera (Gaia Wise), the lone daughter of the king who is loved by all, but also underestimated. As her father and brothers (Hama and Haleth) deal with Wulf and his armies, it’s Hera who holds the Rohan together, especially when they’re forced into the stronghold we know as Helm’s Deep. It’s not called that yet though and, since you just read the king’s name, you can probably get a sense of why it’s called that and where the story is going.
The War of the Rohirrim has a dynamite, exciting, and sweeping first act as well as a jaw-dropping, awesome third act. It’s a massive story and so, so much happens in it you frankly can’t believe they were able to stuff it all into one movie. The problem, however, is the middle of the film where things drag considerably. When Hera and the Rohan find themselves stuck in Helm’s Deep, the film slows down to a screeching halt. In a way, that change of pace mirrors the story of the film, but even so, it can be a major slog. Thankfully, when it picks up again, the finale more or less makes up for it.
The pacing issues are also slightly helped by the fact The War of the Rohirrim looks stunning. In the film’s opening moment, you watch what you believe is reality and it’s only when a massive eagle flies into the frame that you realize it’s animated. That level of quality is there throughout, with every character, creature, vista, and building drawn to look as filled with life as the real thing, if not more so. Even when the movie is dragging, enjoyment can be down at just marveling at the look. The War of the Rohirrim set the bar of beauty high, which makes its violence and action that much more impactful.
However, as beautiful as the film looks, there’s rarely a moment watching where you can’t picture the same thing in live-action. That shouldn’t be a prerequisite for an anime like this, especially one that’s so gorgeously crafted, but because it’s Lord of the Rings and because Peter Jackson was able to do such stunning things in those movies, it just hangs over this one like a cloud. You keep hoping for the film to justify itself beyond just the great characters, visuals, and story, but it very rarely does. Even when the story hits huge emotional beats and the stakes become literal life or death, it’s only working on that one level.
Which should be enough, right? Great characters, visuals, story, and stakes should be enough for a movie to be a complete home run. The War of the Rohirrim even begins to tie into the Lord of the Rings movies in ways that will delight fans. Nevertheless, even at its best, you just can’t help but think this entire movie should have a better reason for existing rather than only being a solid movie. And it doesn’t. Faults and all, it’s certainly more complete and satisfying than The Hobbit movies, but it can’t quite live up to its predecessors or most of the other fantastic animated films released this year. It’s still awesome though and if you are a Lord of the Rings fan, you’ll enjoy it. But just go in with slightly tempered expectations.
The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim opens Friday.
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