LOTR: War of the Rohirrim (2024)—An Unnecessary, but Beautiful Addition
It’s no surprise that J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings is one of the most legendary fantasy book series. Everyone who’s read it loves it, from men, to women and even children. The books were so beloved that they were adapted to the silver screen in 2001-2003 by Peter Jackson. And to no one’s surprise, they swept at the Oscars. Twenty one years after the success of LOTR (and 10 years after the mediocrity of The Hobbit trilogy), New Line Cinema and Wingnut Films brings us the much-anticipated animated addition to the world of LOTR: War of the Rohirrim!
Set almost 200 years before the events of The Lord of the Rings, comes the story of King Helm Hammerhand (voiced by Brian Cox) of Rohan and his daughter Héra Hammerhand (voiced by Gaia Wise). After the accidental death of King Freca of the Dunledings, his son, Wulf (voiced by Luke Pasqualino) swears vengeance on Rohan. Helm Hammerhand leads a valiant, but fruitless defense as Wulf’s forces quickly overtake and burn down Edoras, the capital of Rohan. Fortunately, Héra evacuates the city and directs them to The Hornburg, the last stronghold of Rohan. There, the Rohirrim attempt to outlast Wulf’s army. However, as a long winter approaches, food and supplies run low leaving many to question the fate of Rohan.
It’s no secret that I’m not overly fond of prequels (you can thank Star Wars for that). An unnecessary amount of exposition is dumped on us, characters we either don’t know or care about are featured as protagonists, and even the continuity itself can be altered. Fortunately, War of the Rohirrim goes out of its way to ensure the latter stays intact. Unfortunately, I can’t say the same for the former. We are handed way too much exposition all thanks to Éowyn’s narration. Although it makes sense to have one fellow shield maiden of Rohan narrate the story of another, the narration itself gets on my nerves. Why? Because we’re told info that could be shown to us instead such as Hera’s childhood in Rohan, the Rohirrim’s internal struggles in the Hornburg along with what happened to Wulf after his father’s death. Did the movie think the audience was that dumb?
War of the Rohirrim has one of the most egregious problems that’s the bane of many prequels: cramming too much story into one movie. We juggle the conflict between the Rohirrim and Dundelings, the fall of Edoras and the story of Héra Hammerhand all within a measly two hours. And if you thought you already had a full plate on your hands, grandma’s about to dump a whole other meal onto that plate. The film’s conclusion leaves a trail of breadcrumbs that ties in to the LOTR trilogy. Did they really feel it was necessary to set up a trilogy that’s been watched thousands if not millions of times? Or did they just want to remind audiences that the films are set within the same universe? If you ask me, it’s likely the latter. I think War of the Rohirrim would’ve worked better as a series on Max or Amazon Prime than a feature length film. That way, we’d have ample time to connect with the characters whilst simultaneously learning about the history of Rohan.
The movie also relies too heavily on nostalgia for Jackson’s LOTR films. It very liberally recycles and borrows story elements and even scenes from both The Two Towers and Return of the King. Remember Théoden’s epic speech before the Battle of Minas Tirith? Let’s have Helm Hammerhand deliver an almost word by word replica of it! Or what about the epic Battle of The Hornburg and the Rohirrim cavalry charge in The Two Towers? Let’s recreate it in anime form! Or what about the Haradrim riding the Oliphaunts? I think you know where I’m going with this. I’m not joking when I say the movie tries too hard to remind us what was great about LOTR. I don’t need to remember what was great about the LOTR trilogy. If I wanted that, I’d re-watch the entire trilogy. And in doing so, War of the Rohirrim suffers as a standalone project.
This even applies to the characters. So Héra wants to be remembered as a shield maiden and wishes to live a life on her own terms. But Helm wishes that she would rule in his stead and even forbids her from fighting. Now on the surface, this sounds like an appropriate conflict. But there’s only one problem: we literally see this exact storyline verbatim in LOTR with Théoden and Éowyn. Why do we need to see this again? Héra does have some unique traits, but she’s relegated to just another copy of Éowyn. And Helm Hammerhand is almost an amalgamation of Théoden’s worst traits. He’s so much of a stubborn prick that he refuses outside help when war comes to Edoras and instead fights a losing battle head on. You know, maybe the story of Héra Hammerhand should’ve been told to future generations of Rohan. They really could’ve avoided so much death and suffering during the War of The Ring.
If there’s something this movie did right, it was the decision to have the film animated. Why do I love animated films so much? Because you start with a blank canvas. The only thing holding you back is your imagination. And War of the Rohirrim is one of the most well-animated films I’ve seen this year! Upon watching the opening scene, I was completely taken aback by the backgrounds. They looked so lifelike that I was wondering if they were created via photorealistic CGI. Even though the character models are 2D animated, they mesh well with the surrounding backgrounds. This makes the entire project look and feel grounded in the LOTR universe while still encapsulating the spirit of anime. We even get moments that take direct inspiration from shōnen anime such as fight scenes that are ripped straight out of Kengan Ashura! Last but not least, the sound design carries the impact of every punch and gallop across the theater like a golden wind. Creating one hell of a cinematic experience.
Despite all my gripes, War of the Rohirrim is far from the worst prequel movie I’ve seen. In my opinion, it easily outclasses The Hobbit trilogy (I’ll make a proper retrospective on that later). But despite that, it’s still a mere shadow of Peter Jackson’s award-winning LOTR trilogy. A tangible shadow, but still a shadow nonetheless. Even though the art style and animation prevent the movie from completely sinking, I couldn’t help but feel a bit let down by the poor pacing. Coupled with a needless expository narration really prevents this film from being truly great. Should you decide to check this movie out, don’t hold your breath. And don’t feel like you’ll miss a ton if you have to run to the restroom.
