I was as skeptical of the trailer as you may have been when I first saw it. Would it be able to evoke The Lord of the Rings feel? Would it only be tapping into nostalgia? Would there be anything fantastical about it at all?

Yes, yes, and yes.

It reminded me of why Tolkien’s epic is so beloved, why the world he created is still alive after all these years, why the characters in Middle-earth resonate so much with us.

This is a The Lord of the Rings epic through and through. It may be in a different format (anime), it may be set in a different time period, and it may not feature the villains we’re used to seeing.

But mark my words, this is as worthy of the The Lord of the Rings name as any other film.

Synopsis

The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim (referred to as The War of the Rohirrim henceforth) is a fantasy anime film that is part of The Lord of the Rings franchise. Set 183 years before The Lord of the Rings, it revolves around a king of the horsemen kingdom of Rohan – Helm Hammerhand – and his family’s war against the wild Dunlending men.

Director: Kenji Kamiyama

Writers: Jeffrey Addiss and Will Matthews, with story credits for Philippa Boyens, and screenplay credits for Phoebe Gittins and Arty Papageorgiou

Voice Cast:

• Brian Cox (Helm Hammerhand)
• Gaia Wise (Héra)
• Luke Pasqualino (Wulf)
• Miranda Otto (Éowyn)
• Lorraine Ashbourne (Olwyn)
• Yazdan Qafouri (Hama)
• Benjamin Wainwright (Haleth)
• Laurence Ubong Williams (Fréaláf Hildeson)
• Shaun Dooley (Freca)
• Michael Wildman (General Targg)
• Christopher Lee (Saruman, through archival recording)

Running time: 2 hours 14 minutes

A tale of tragedy and triumph

This isn’t a tale of a fellowship of heroes saving the world. But then again, neither was The Hobbit trilogy.

This is a tale of a family feud, a feud that grows so great that it threatens to rip a nation apart. This is a tale of the pride of kings and the arrogance of men. This is a tale of great men and women, with ancient blood running within them. Like The Lord of the Rings, it’s about how the fate of so many lies on the shoulders of those who seem insignificant – Héra (Gaia Wise) herself. And like LOTR, it is about how the most unlikely among us can become the greatest of saviours. Of course, the part about the pride of kings and the arrogance of men – you can expect some tragic deaths as a result of that hubris. But that sacrifice is what enriches the story, and makes it so much grander in scope.

Plot comes full circle

The story ends the way it begins, with a score to settle between two foes. But it gives closure in more than one way. It shows us how this story is important, how it links to the larger The Lord of the Rings arc in general. Like any good epic, it reminds us why this story is important, why it had to be told. Maybe there aren’t any magic rings in this movie (or are there?), but that doesn’t detract from the fact that the film shows us why it was necessary for us to know his story, and how it subsequently affected the rest of Middle-earth.

Grand, epic, majestic

Perhaps it’s the sweeping score. Or maybe it’s the lines. It could also be the delivery and the sheer impetus that the voice actors lend to the dialogue. Regardless of how it’s executed, there’s no doubting the royal feel of The War of the Rohirrim. Like a Shakespearean epic, you know this is not a story that should be confined to the small screen. Rather, it’s a narrative that should see light on a platform as epic as the plot itself. Kings, betrayal, sieges, sacrifice, ancient powers, nature – all these elements add up to give The War of the Rohirrim the epic feel it deserves.

Fantastic action sequences

The War of the Rohirrim leverages on the anime format to deliver battle sequences and fight scene that are breathtaking to behold. It’s clear that there’s an animation budget for the film, and the animators knew when and where to spend it. There are a few fantastical fight scenes, but overall, each blow rings true and each hit lands squarely. The action scenes, along with the grand dialogue that the characters utter, are the two main reasons for why the film feels as epic as it does.

Helm Hammerhand is Lear-esque in stature and nature

Helm Hammerhand (Brian Cox) is the tragic figure of the story – doomed because the story necessitates it, yet struggling his hardest to overcome the consequences of his pride and folly. He also looks Lear-ian (or is it Lear-esque?) with his massive white beard and immense stature. If thunder and lightning accompanied his appearances, I wouldn’t be surprised. Helm doesn’t so much speak, as he declares. His physical prowess, depicted through all his victories, only serves to underscore this.

Some slight contrivances

Admittedly, there are some manufactured circumstances to get the protagonists to where they need to be, given its place in the grander scheme of things. I, for one, didn’t exactly like that it was about foolish men doing foolish things for foolish reasons sometimes. But one of the themes of the film is the folly of men, so it does have its place in the film. Nevertheless, events could have been arranged for a more fulfilling story.

Should you watch The War of the Rohirrim? 

Yes. As with the One Ring, don’t be fooled by its humble appearance. The War of the Rohirrim feels shorter than it is, lands harder than you’d think, and leaves you remembering the glory of The Lord of the Rings, when it came out so many years ago. It’s largely a brand new tale, and uses this freedom to good effect to give us a story that fits in perfectly in the ranks of Tolkien’s tales. Now excuse me while I go read the rest of the Middle-earth’s books, and create a new character with a Tolkien-esque name for my games.

Score: 9/10

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• “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” Movie Review
• [Movie Review] “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies” presents a fitting finale
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