It鈥檚 a discombobulating experience, after a 鈥淟ord of the Rings鈥� trilogy that was built, down to every frame and hobbit hair, for the big screen, to see something so comparatively minor, small-scaled and TV-sized as 鈥淭he Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim.鈥�
The film, set 183 years before the events of 鈥淭he Hobbit,鈥� is a return to Middle-earth that, despite some very earnest storytelling, never supplies much of an answer as to why, exactly, it exists.
鈥淩ohirrim,鈥� which sounds a little like the sound an orc might make sneezing, is perhaps best understood as a placeholder for further cinematic universe extrapolation from . (A live-action movie about Gollum is .) Here, the thin basis in Tolkien comes from the 鈥淟ord of the Rings鈥� appendix, which lists a history of Rohan, the plains kingdom south of the Elven forest of Lothl贸rien.
A small army of screenwriters 鈥� Jeffrey Addiss, Will Matthews, Phoebe Gittins and Arty Papageorgiou 鈥� have from those faint embers conjured a fiery war movie, made as an anime by director Kenji Kamiyama (鈥淕host in the Shell: Stand Along Complex,鈥� 鈥淏lade Runner: Black Lotus鈥�). The obviously talented Kamiyama fashions some dazzling vintage anime visuals that 鈥� and perhaps this isn鈥檛 all bad 鈥� feels a world apart from Peter Jackson鈥檚 Middle-earth features.
But 鈥淭he War of Rohirrim鈥� also feels conspicuously closer to 1990s direct-to-video release than an heir to some of the grandest big-screen fantasy storytelling of the past 25 years. Though there are many 鈥� too many 鈥� examples of Hollywood over-mining once-rich intellectual property, this dull, appendix-extracted anime adds to a not particularly Tolkienist tradition.
Tolkien diehards, though, may be grateful for whatever 鈥淭he Lord of the Rings鈥� morsels they can find. And there is some precedent. Before Jackson (an executive producer here) built Middle-earth in New Zealand, 鈥淭he Lord of the Rings鈥� prompted a pair of 1970s animated TV specials and a not-much-remembered animated 1978 movie.
鈥淭he War of Rohirrim鈥� concerns the adventures of Hera (voiced by Gaia Wise), daughter of Helm Hammerhand ( ), the Rohan king. Cox, coming off of 鈥淪uccession,鈥� again finds himself beset with trouble over the future of his throne.
Things get underway when Freka (Shaun Dolley), leader of the Dundelings, offers his son Wulf (Luke Pasqualino) to marry Hera and take the throne. After a swift refusal, a fight ensues, and with a mere punch, Helm accidentally kills Freka. Given how extreme Wulf鈥檚 vengeance is following this punch, it鈥檚 fair to wonder if 鈥淭he War of Rohirrim鈥� could have been started just as easily with a slap or, perhaps, an overly aggressive noogie.
But only self-seriousness reigns in this 鈥淟ord of the Rings鈥� adventure. When the battle begins, Hera must save her people, which she strives to do by retreating to a fortress dug into a mountainside. Hera鈥檚 story is said to be one lost to history in the opening narration, but 鈥淭he War of Rohirrim鈥� is just as much an origin story for the stronghold that will later be known as Helm鈥檚 Deep.
I don鈥檛 begrudge any Tolkien addict a little anime fun 鈥� and maybe these references and callbacks will be enough to conjure some of the majesty of the books or Jackson鈥檚 movies. You can tell "Rohirrim鈥� was made with sincere belief in the world Tolkien created. But I found the connective tissue, like the few notes from Howard Shore鈥檚 original score that float in, only reinforced how such grander movie ambitions once came to Rohan. 鈥淭he War of the Rohirrim鈥� does manage to recapture one trait of the earlier films: at 134 minutes, it鈥檚 long.
鈥淭he Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim,鈥� a New Line release is rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association for strong violence. Running time: 134 minutes. One and a half stars out of four.
Jake Coyle, The Associated Press
