The Lord Of The Rings: The War Of The Rohirrim

Two centuries before The War Of The Ring, Helm Hammerhand - Lord of the Rohirrim - faces a civil war that will change the face of Rohan and give rise to a new legend. At his side stand his sons Haleth & Hama, and his daughter Hera, who will carve out her own story....

Back in 2021 the news that an animated film set in the world of The Lord Of The Rings film trilogy was entering production, directed by Kenji Kamiyama (Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Eden Of The East, Blade Runner: Black Lotus), I was more than a little surprised. Even more so to hear that it was going to take please centuries prior to the time of The War Of The Ring, focusing on a civil war in Rohan that JRR Tolkien mentioned in passing in one of the Appendices of the LOTR books, specifically one that discussed the Kings of the Rohirrim. The trailers were a *little* underwhelming, but I am delighted to say that it is in fact a fun addition to the extended cinematic Middle-Earth that brings it's own flair to the setting, even if it sometimes stumbles under the weight of its own ambition.     

Now, off that bat we need to address probably the biggest negative of this film for Tolkien purists: the story it tells is more or less original. The story of Helm was only broadly sketched out by Professor Tolkien in the Appendices of The Lord Of The Rings, and whilst his sons were both named his daughter was not. From reading of the production process, Kamiyama specifically requested to set the film around Helm's story, then Phillipa Boyens - one of the writers on The Lord Of The Rings trilogy alongside Peter Jackson & Fran Walsh - came up with the initial draft. Part of the reasoning for the film developing in this way is down to the specific rights that New Line have. Specifically they are limited to material from The Hobbit and The Lord Of The Rings novels. That means anything from The Silmarillion or The Unfinished Tales were off limits (side note - this is also part of why The Rings Of Power series is telling the story in the way it is).

The film also had to be fast-tracked as New Line's rights for the franchise were set to expire otherwise, but it was in development - with Kamiyama attached - some time before this became an issue, but it did affect the animation in certain places. It gets noticeable when some scenes are staged to minimise the speaking characters whose faces are visible and would thus need to be animated. It's not egregious but I'd probably recommend making a drinking game out of it. 

But what of the film itself? Well it's pretty fun to be honest. The story is a grand, sweeping tale of an aging king who thought his realm secured for his heirs, instead facing a vicious civil war against a foe consumed by vengeance whose sole desire is the end of the line of kings, and the daughter who desires nothing more than to support her father. And it does a dang good job of hitting all the right notes (and I really don't want to spoil things as the story does not go quite how you might expect).  

Sola Entertainment provide the animation and, excepting the few issues noted above, it's a bit of a treat with some very fluid 2d animation in play. Seeing the familiar environs of Rohan depicted with an anime twist was a real treat, something that extends to the character designs that manage to retain the realism that helped sell the LOTR trilogy to viewers two decades ago (holy molee that hurts to write) but with a distinct style that helps sell the fact that this is 200 years in the past.

Brian Cox is an actor I've loved to watch for decades now, and always thought he would be a good fit for Middle-Earth (immediately post-LOTR Trilogy I figured he'd have made a great Thorin if they did The Hobbit sooner) and he brings a wonderful gravitas to Helm Hammerhand, a very different king to Theoden, cast much more from the mold of the warrior-king whose realm is less united and requires a firm hand to keep his lords & fifes in-check, even as he is in the autumn of his reign. But Helm is not the focus of this tale, instead our protagonist is Hera, daughter of Helm and Princess of Rohan, voiced by Gaia Wise as not so much a rebellious daughter, but one very much a mirror to her father's own instincts.

For a character that had to be created whole-clothe for this film she's kinda great. Not as constrained as Eowyn (shout out to Miranda Otto reprising her role and narrating the film as a piece of oral story telling), but not afraid to display a softness alongside her fury, her journey over the course of the film I found genuinely engaging.

Credit also to the supporting cast - Lorraine Ashbourne as Hera's guardian Olwyn and Luke Pasqualiano as Wulf, the main antagonist of the film whose desire for revenge on Helm and his house consumes him, are standouts. Plus some wonderful cameos as Billy Boyd & Dominic Monaghan (Pippin & Merry in the LOTR Trilogy) get to play a pair of disgruntled Orcs, whilst Sir Christopher Lee's Saruman appears by way of canny use of an unused archival recording he made during production of The Hobbit (used with permission of Lee's widow).

Props to composer Stephen Gallagher too, as he pretty neatly crafts a score that stands alone while also building from the iconic Rohirrim themes that Howard Shore composed for the LOTR Trilogy. 

Otherwise honestly it's just plain fun to be able to go to the cinema and catch an anime fantasy film that just so happens to be set in the pre-eminent fantasy setting of Western literature. That's kinda cool ya know?