The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim

Everyone knows the story of the War of the Ring.  But almost 200 years before that conflict, another Legend was being written.  The country of Rohan faces civil war from an ambitious rebel, Wulf,  who seeks both the throne and a greater prize: Hera, the daughter of Helm Hammerhand.  But Hera defies Wulf’s dreams of conquest and battles to defend her people even as her country crumbles around her.  This is the story of how the fortress of Helm’s Deep came to earn its name…and the Sheild Maiden who became one of Middle Earth’s greatest unknown heroes.

The Lord of the Rings is no stranger to animated adaptations, having had three between 1977 and 1980: two from Rankin Bass and one from Ralph Baskshi.  All have their charms and devoted fans but let’s face it, Peter Jackson’s original Lord of the Rings Trilogy is THE definitive Middle Earth experience (The Hobbit not so much).  Still, Anime owes a lot of inspiration to the works of J.R.R. Tolkien.  Even Dungeons and Dragons influenced fare like Record of Lodoss War have some Tolkien in their DNA.  Simply put, LotR has been long overdue for a proper Anime adaptation and there’s a ton of Middle Earth history and tales to draw from.  Focusing on the Horse loving country of Rohan isnt a bad idea.  However, The War of the Rohirrim squanders all of its potential on an overly long and cliché ridden tale that ultimately has it fall short of that mountain sized mark left behind by Peter Jackson’s Trilogy.
 
Speaking of Peter Jackson, War of the Rohirrim is part of that little cinematic universe he helped craft.  Rohan’s capital city of Edoras and the legendary Helm’s Deep are both faithfully recreated from The Two Towers and even LotR screenwriter Phillipa Boyens helped create the original story for the film.  Plus you have Miranda Otto reprising her role of Eowyn from the Trilogy narrarating the story of one of her heroes.  Add in some music cues from Howard Shore’s legendary score and you at least build up a little promise that an LotR anime is in good hands, not to mention having back up in the form of seasoned Anime Director Kenji Kamiyama (Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex and Eden of the East).  But really, this is just a lure to get long time viewers to check this Anime out and the lure doesn’t last long before disappointment starts to set in, in fact it sets in pretty quick.
 
War of the Rohirrim suffers mostly on two fronts.  The first is the story.  It’s pretty basic and bare bones, lacking any of the complexity or exciting setup of the War of the Ring.  Instead of the fate of all Middle Earth, this war boils down to an angry brat whose arrogant Dad got One Punched Man to death AND cant take a hint that a beautiful girl just isnt into him.  It’s honestly bad writing that Helm Hammerhand is outmatched as much as he is in battle by Wulf’s inability to lead and just luck his way into good fortunes.  That also leads into the second front dragging the film down: the characters.  While Helm Hammerhand has presence and one helluva major fight scene that might be my favorite part of the film, he's written so typically arrogant and hardheaded its kind of hard to root for him, no matter how hard Brian Cox tries to do so.  And Hera, oh man I had high hopes for her.  While she is clever and a good warrior, she feels so underutilized for much of the movie.  She’s mostly relegated to being ignored, lacking self assurance and kind of just being there to look awesome (and very, very hot) without even doing much.  Nausicaa Hera is not and she’s definitely not nearly as memorable as Arwen or Eowyn from the original trilogy.
 
The animation is the one part of the movie I did admire despite being very bored.  Modern day handdrawn techniques are always welcome and some of the movements of large armies reminded me of Ralph Bakshi’s rotoscoping style from his adaptation of The Lord of the Rings from the 70s.  Character models look good (especially Hera, damn she’s a Goddess).  And the creatures of Middle Earth don’t look bad either, especially a diseased Mumakil who ends up being part of one other sequence that I actually enjoyed.  The animation does suffer from a lack of detail or focus when it comes to nighttime battles, of which half this movie has.  I’m not expecting Ninja Scroll or Berserk levels of carnage but this is still a Lord of the Rings Anime and I do expect some really fun and well crafted action sequences (also ones that are well lit and not hampered by snow storms).  It takes away the excitement factor that make epic battles like The Battle of Helm’s Deep still a joy to watch to this day.  That also leads to one of the films biggest crimes: IT’S SO BORING!!!!  Between the ample amounts of depression forced on the people of Edoras and Wulf’s neverending need to assert himself as the big man on campus, I cant believe I was more bored than sitting through The Hobbit Trilogy again, jeez that’s bad.
 
While I think The Lord of the Rings has plenty of potential in the world of Anime, The War of the Rohirrim isnt a triumphant first outing worthy of that Gandalf/Eomer led charge at the end of The Two Towers. There’s one or two good action scenes and the movie looks nice.  But everything that made The Lord of the Rings Trilogy so engrossing and unique is nowhere to be seen from the lack of character development to a cliché as heck story that never manages to rise above said cliches.   Wasted lead heroine, an even worse villain and lacking any sense of joy or wonder amongst the grim atmosphere, The War of the Rohirrim is an overly long return to Middle Earth that’s better spent binging the original trilogy again, or at least paying another proper visit to Helm’s Deep and just watching that part of The Two Towers again for the millionth time.
 
3/10