December 13, 2024
by Carla Hay
“The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim”
Directed by Kenji Kamiyama
Culture Representation: Taking place in the fictional kingdom of Rohan, the animated film “The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim” (based on characters created by J.R.R. Tolkien) features a cast of characters who are royalty and commoners.
Culture Clash: The king of Rohan and his family, including heroic princess Héra, come under attack by a ruthless lord who has a vendetta against them.
Culture Audience: “The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim” will appeal mainly to people who are fans of “The Lord of the Rings” franchise and anime movies that are predictable.
“The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim” is the type of franchise movie that will have a hard time winning over fans who are not familiar with the original source material of “The Lord of the Rings” books by J.R.R. Tolkien. This prequel to the Oscar-winning “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy falls very short of expectations. Anime is a worthy format for “Lord of the Rings” filmmaking, but the movie’s visuals are often sloppy, and too many characters have bland personalities.
Directed by Kenji Kamiyama, “The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim” was written by Jeffrey Addiss, Will Matthews, Phoebe Gittins and Arty Papageorgiou. Philippa Boyens, a screenwriter for the “Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit” movie trilogies, is a producer of “The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim.” Oscar-winning director Peter Jackson, (who directed and produced “The Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit” movie trilogies) and his producer wife Fran Walsh are among the executive producers of “The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim.”
The story in “The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim” takes place 183 years before the events that took place before the original “Lord of the Rings” movie trilogy, which is a fantasy franchise with wizards and mythical creatures. The story of “The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim” takes place in the kingdom of Rohan, whose people are called Rohirrim, and they have an affinity for horses. Some of the highlights of “The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim” are stunning-looking scenes of people on horseback.
Rohan is ruled by King Helm Hammerhand (voiced by Brian Cox), who is a stereotypically bold and fearless leader. King Helm, who is a widower, has three children: virile son Haleth (voiced by Benjamin Wainwright), who is the eldest child; sensitive son Háma (voiced by Yazdan Qafouri), who is the middle child; and strong-willed daughter Héra (voiced by Gaia Wise), who is the youngest child. King Helm does not think Héra is fit to be a leader because she is female.
A cruel and ruthless lord named Wulf (voiced by Luke Pasqualino) leads an army to attack the family because he wants revenge. Why? Early in the movie, Wulf proposed marriage to Héra in the royal open court, but King Helm rejected this proposal: “You do not seek an alliance. You seek the throne,” the king told Wulf.
Héra and Wulf have known each other since childhood. She is also not keen on this idea of marriage to Wulf. When Wulf tells her that he loves her, Héra’s response is, “I do not want to marry any man.” After this rejection, Wulf turned into into a bitter and vengeful person.
Wulf is the son of Freca (voiced by Shaun Dooley), Lord of the West March. Freca was taunted by King Helm for having mixed heritage of being Rohirrim and Dunlending, the race of people from Dunland. A tragedy strikes Wulf’s family, which gives Wulf even more cause for revenge against King Helm. (You can easily predict what that tragedy is.)
Supporting characters in “The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim” are underdeveloped. General Targg (voiced by Michael Wildman) is a loyal miltary strategist/adviser to Wulf. Éowyn (voiced by Mirando Otto), a noblewoman/shieldmaiden, is a wise mother figure to Héra. Éowyn is also the movie’s narrator. Otto also portrayed the Éowyn character in Jackson’s live-action “The Lord of the Rings” movies.
This family feud war is a simple idea for a story, but in “The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim,” this concept gets convoluted and dragged down by many boring scenes and drab dialogue. The movie’s voice acting performances are mediocre and don’t bring a lot of life or energy to the story. The battle scenes are utterly formulaic.
Everything is so generically predictable in “The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim,” the movie feels disconnected from the thrills and memorable characters in Jackson’s live-action “The Lord of the Rings” movies. “The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim” doesn’t just feel disconnected from the other “Lord of the Rings” movies. The entire tone of the “The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim” feels emotionally disconnected—and that is a problem that is too big to overcome.
