The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim delivers as a rousing adventure-fantasy of striking animation and engrossing story of a warrior princess in a desperate fight to defend her people from a vengeful enemy.
If there was ever a fantasy world that would lend itself to the animation medium, Middle-Earth from The Lord of the Rings would be it. Forgotten by many, however, is that the first film adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s sprawling fantasy adventure was a 1978 animation release that has garnered cult-status over the years. Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim could well achieve the same feat.
An original story set 183 years before the events of the Lord of the Rings film trilogy, this Kenji Kamiyama (Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex - Solid State Society) directed animation feature blends old-school 2D character designs with immersive modern-day worldbuilding, the clash of styles successfully appealing to those who grew up on ‘80s Saturday morning cartoons and todays younglings attuned to more advanced animation.
Set in the kingdom of Rohan, …The War of the Rohirrim tells the story of Hela (Gaia Wise), the rebellious daughter of King Helm Hammerhand (Brian Cox) who is to wed a partner of her fathers choosing. When Lord Freca (Shaun Dooley) forcibly asks that his son Wulf (Luca Pasqualino) be given the right to Hela’s hand, King Helm rejects the proposal, resulting in a vicious war in which Hela must find the courage to defend her people against a vengeful enemy.
Where some might be inclined to think that the choice of a lead female protagonist would result in a “girl-boss” driven activist scourge upon Middle-Earth, …The War of the Rohirrim does not succumb to such nonsense, with Kamiyama focusing on character over identity and high-stakes storytelling above empty social commentary.
At the core of …The War of the Rohirrim is a story of triumph in the face of unspeakable tragedy, as a princess watches on as the men that lead her people are targeted in an attempt to weaken the resolve of a kingdom near the brink of extinction, only to find that the attributes of courage, duty, and leadership within the Rohan bloodline is also manifest within her.
Kamiyama thankfully does not go overboard in Hela’s feats of courage. There is no Kevin Smith Masters of the Universe nonsense here. Hela’s vulnerability and doubt is just as essential to her character as is her adherence to the lineage of Rohan’s crown to be possessed by men. The lack of talk about “patriarchy” and other such woke-activism is refreshing.
Where …The War of the Rohirrim will stand with Lord of the Rings purists is anyone’s guess. As a cinematic achievement it is much more enjoyable than the last two instalments of The Hobbit trilogy. What is certain is that more adaptations of Middle-Earth set adventures should be explored, with …The War of the Rohirrim an engrossing and warmly nostalgic trip back to Middle-Earth.
