The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim Review

In 2024, do we really need to explain what The Lord of the Rings is? JRR Tolkien’s hugely iconic and influential masterpiece is widely considered one of the greatest works of fantasy of all time. And even if you’ve never read the books, there’s a pretty good chance you’ve seen Peter Jackson’s popular film adaptations, released between 2001 and 2003, or at least some of the lengthy, almost cartoonish memes that spawned from them. Enjoy This movie on flixtor full movie

In fact, in the 70 years since The Lord of the Rings was first published, the world of these books has been retold and expanded many times, with varying degrees of success. And the latest addition to this club is The Lord of the Rings: The Battle of Rohirrim, the first animated film in the series (though not the first animated film).

Admittedly, there isn't much that connects WotR to the rest of The Lord of the Rings. You can watch this movie with very little knowledge of The Lord of the Rings and still have no problems. You'll miss a few references to The Lord of the Rings, but nothing so significant that you can't follow and understand what's going on. They're both set in the same world, and The Lord of the Rings fans will hear some familiar names in the film (and even get a special cameo at the end), but WotR takes place roughly 200 years before Frodo steps outside the Shire. Set. Furthermore, WotR is primarily a story about humans, and in fact the film features very few non-human characters. His main connection and contribution to the world created by Tolkien is the specific story of why Helm's Deep is called Helm's Deep. This is a question I doubt many (if any) Lord of the Rings fans actually want to delve into, but at the same time, careful world-building has always been a Tolkien trademark, so it doesn't necessarily bother me.

If there's anything that bothers me about this movie, it's probably (and surprisingly) the animation, which is sometimes very nice. But the mouth movements in other places are visibly out of sync, and once you notice it, it's impossible to ignore. Also, at other moments, it's very clear that the background and the people and horses are not on the same level at all (if that makes sense) - the people and horses are very clearly visible through the background, but they don't quite match up, stylistically or visually. Finally, when something particularly dynamic or big moving happens, the animation gets a little rough (which, to be clear, is common - there's a lot of fighting, horse riding, etc.). Director Kenji Kamiyama is no novice when it comes to anime and fast-paced action, so I was shocked at how much this anime so often disappoints.

But the film's greatest strength is one of its main characters, who is nothing less than a force of nature brought to life by the legendary Brian Cox. ANN recently had the chance to interview him, along with Gaia Wise. He's exactly the kind of bombastic authority figure we love to encounter in anime, and Cox, fresh off his role as screaming old man Logan Roy in Succession, (as expected) is perfectly able to live up to that energy. As with everyone else, it's hard to perform at your best when you have to share the stage with a character who exudes heat and charisma like Helm Hammerhand. Even Hela (voiced by Gaia Wise), the other central character in the film, can't quite keep up. Still, both she and Wolf are fascinating characters, never in the spotlight like Helm, but never completely consumed by his charm.

And somewhere in between lies the film's story, which feels like a pretty standard revenge tale. Basically, it's not something you haven't seen a million times before. You just haven't seen it in Helm Hammerhand. But still, WotR isn't reinventing the wheel at all. This is a story that chooses to do what it's good at instead of doing it its own way, and that's okay; it just makes it more forgettable.

WotR probably won't be a must-have in your Lord of the Knights marathon anytime soon, but it still remains an entertaining, if somewhat disappointing, adventure film. Comparing it to other parts of The Lord of the Rings media seems like a trap, because few series have had astounding highs and astronomical lows at the same time as The Lord of the Rings. It seems almost inevitable that it would land somewhere in the middle, but when the distance between The Lord of the Rings' highs and lows is so great, "somewhere in the middle" might make sense. At the same time, the fact remains that this is a piece of The Lord of the Rings media; it pales in comparison to the best, but it's far from the worst the Tolkien universe has ever seen. And as a standalone piece, it's a solid adventure film, but it lacks a certain element of surprise that you can't help but remember is often present in the better parts of The Lord of the Rings.