Lord Of The Rings Fans, You Must Watch War Of The Rohirrim
Lord of the Rings fans often seem hungrier than a Hobbit for new content, but they don’t always know what to do once they get it. For example, The War of the Rohirrim was in and out of most theaters faster than Swiftwind, and the film has been a box office bomb big enough to breach Helm’s Deep. I was admittedly one of the Lord of the Rings fans who held off on seeing it theatrically, but not that I’ve seen it on digital, I’m here to tell you The War of the Rohirrim is the best new franchise film in decades.
The War Of The Rohirrim
Set nearly 183 years before Fellowship of the Ring, The War of the Rohirrim focuses on drama involving Helm Hammerhand and his family. A bitter rivalry with an ambitious Dunland Lord forces this King of Rohan to take refuge in the Hornburg. His daughter, Héra, helps the Rohirrim fight back against impossible odds, and by the time it’s all over, you’ll have a new respect for why the Hornburg is later referred to as Helm’s Deep.
I didn’t check out this movie at first because I made plans to see it with some friends after Christmas, and that was when I made the shocking discovery that it was no longer in my local theaters and had hit digital after only two weeks. During that time, the movie earned only $15 million back against its $30 million budget. To me, the message was clear: for whatever reason, Lord of the Rings fans had largely decided to skip out on War of the Rohirrim.
Still, plans are plans, and I dutifully rented the movie as soon as possible so I could watch it with my buddies after Christmas. My expectations were seriously tempered thanks to the movie being a box office bomb, and that meant I was blown away to discover just how good it really was. The movie was better on every level than those superfluous Hobbit movies, and considering that Return of the King came out in 2003, that makes War of the Rohirrim the best LOTR film in decades.
Lord Of The Rings Fans Rejoice
Lord of the Rings fans may find themselves equally surprised by the movie’s aesthetic as well as its quality: the Japanese animation is absolutely breathtaking, and director Kenji Kamiyama (who worked on seminal films like Akira before directing fan-favorite productions like the Ghost in the Shell: Standalone Complex TV series) infuses the film with a combination of jaw-dropping imagery and pulse-pounding fight sequences. Additionally, the voicework in The War of the Rohirrim is top-notch. Everyone did an excellent job, but I was particularly impressed by Brian Cox as he brought the legendary figure of Helm Hammerhand to life.
The film also has plenty of familiar locations for Lord of the Rings fans to appreciate, ranging from Rohan to Isengard to Helm’s Deep. Some of this was admittedly a bit too fan service for my taste, but it was hard to complain thanks to the high quality of the art and animation. At the risk of sounding like a marketing plant, this was truly Middle Earth as I had never seen it before, and the novelty of the animation and aesthetic helped me take War of the Rohirrim’s most overt fan service in stride.
Even though the productions are like apples and oranges, I’d be remiss if I didn’t compare this new movie with Rings of Power. That live-action Amazon show has improved since its first season, and it admittedly has impressive production value all around. But for this Lord of the Rings fan, the show is rarely exciting or compelling, which I why I loved how War of the Rohirrim kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time.
It’s not too late for you to catch this movie in certain theaters, and you can also rent a digital copy and check it out at home. Your mileage may vary, but I found it to be the best Lord of the Rings film in decades…the kind of high-quality movie that fans have often wondered if we’d ever get again. In short, for anyone who often likes to quote Theoden and ask “where is the horse and the rider,” War of the Rohirrim is the beautiful, blood-soaked answer you’ve been looking for.
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