‘The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim’ REVIEW: Unimpressive spectacle over character
‘The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim’ REVIEW: Unimpressive spectacle over character
The Hammerhands of Rohan in The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim | Still courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures
It’s been over twenty years since Peter Jackson and his thousands-strong fellowship won eleven Academy Awards for The Return of the King. Their book-to-screen translation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s beloved Lord of the Rings trilogy is one of cinema’s biggest gambles that miraculously paid off after almost seven years’ worth of blood, sweat and tears, and it still remains a remarkable achievement that continues to astound people to this day.
And since then, plenty of big shots in the industry have wanted to replicate that success. I mean, who wouldn’t? The movies made money, won awards, and are widely considered one of, if not the, greatest film trilogies in cinema history. If the guy who brought us the bloodiest zombie slaughter sequence featuring a high-powered lawnmower can dabble in the world of Middle-earth and earn massive recognition, then anyone can, right?
However, the question we should be asking isn’t whether anyone can recreate the success of the trilogy, but whether they should.
Wulf, the leader of the Dunderlings in The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim | Still courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures
The filmmakers think people love The Lord of the Rings wholeheartedly for the spectacle, but they forget the importance of having good characters in the mix of everything. The original trilogy has plenty of character arcs that I can still project in my mind — where the characters started in the story and how much they changed by the end; how all these people in different walks of life overcome their differences and band together to overcome extraordinary dangers through perseverance and courage.
Such well-drawn character arcs can’t be found in any of the films in the franchise after Return of the King, and the same can be said with The War of the Rohirrim.
The War of the Rohirrim is the newest prequel helmed by Japanese animator Kenji Kamiyama. I’m not familiar with Mr. Kamiyama’s work, but as evident in the film, he’s also one of those filmmakers that misunderstood what makes the original trilogy great. War of the Rohirrim goes under the same pitfalls as the Hobbit prequels: insufficient characterization, reappearance of popular figures that serve little purpose, and overreliance on spectacle over character. These pitfalls are then burdened by animation that’s a bit too stiff and choppy to present an effective element such as movement and emotions.
At the start of the film, Miranda Otto’s Eowyn returns as the narrator who introduces the story of the Hammerhands, the former royal blood of Rohan, and their downfall. She adds how some characters that will be featured in this part of history won’t be remembered in songs and tales. There is an irony to that, intended or not; it’s like the filmmakers admitted that the story they’re about to tell isn’t worth remembering in the first place.
Héra, the King’s only daughter, on horseback in The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim | Still courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures
We’re immediately introduced to Héra, a princess so unladylike that the film will beat us over the head to remind us of how unladylike she is by the people surrounding her. She’s supposed to be inspired by Hayao Miyazaki’s female protagonists, an influence that is unnoticeable given the fact that Miyazaki’s women are multilayered and well-defined as Héra is thinly realized.
We’re then immediately introduced to her family, her cousin, her brothers and her father. Who are they? Who cares? The movie doesn’t bother letting us know; they’re all gonna die anyway.
Onto our antagonists. The Dunlendings arrive while the Hammerhands are feasting. Who are the Dunlendings? The film barely gives us time to know them. They have a conflict of some kind with the Hammerhands. Of what nature, the film does not specify. But the King of the Dunlendings wants his son Wulf and Héra to be wed as he doesn’t want the idea of a prince from Gondor marrying Héra. Again, the details of such animosity are hazy.
Helm Hammerhand, the King of Rohan, refuses the Dunlendings’ hand though. Instead, they have a power slap competition outside where Helm delivers a single fatal blow to the head of the Dunlendings. The latter’s son, Wulf, cries vengeance, and thus, a war begins.
Héra charging and ready to engage in war in The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim | Still courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures
Everything about the story is pedestrian. The film feels like a two-hour-long flashback sequence; a history lesson, skimmed and crammed for the most sensationalized and so-called “important” bullet points. It’s also weird to call this particular tale as part of the Lord of the Rings when none of which involve Sauron. It’s just a war between men, and aside from the occasional orcs and the eagles, there’s nothing fantastical about it nor intriguing. The only thing common about it is that it’s set in Middle-earth, but calling it The War of the Rohirrim: A Middle-Earth Story isn’t exactly a title that will draw viewers. It’s just Lord of the Rings by name and brand only.
What the film has in abundance are the battle sequences, and they're all just noise to me. It feels like Peter Jackson’s Battle of the Five Armies again, where the film decides to reserve plenty of its runtime on arrows piercing necks, swords clashing on swords and creatures being slaughtered even though none of the warfare on display feels like it mattered.
There’s nothing bad about clichés. Every story ever told has them. But when storytellers do nothing that would make them stand out, or at least, the story would be just another run of the mill. In The War of the Rohirrim, the heroes make proud speeches and save the day. The villains are advised against doing something rash, but they do it anyway, and they suffer for it predictably. Major characters die, but who gives a crap when we barely know these people other than what we are told who they are.
Overall, The War of the Rohirrim is a history lesson that should have been left in the appendices as it expands on a tale that isn’t worth expanding in the first place. No one cares about where the title, “Helm’s Deep,” came from, or how Saruman finds himself in Isengard. Not unless you’re able to make them care about it. Unfortunately, all the film manages to do is to remind you of how great the original trilogy is, and how you should all be watching that instead.
