Review: “The Lord of the Rings: The War of The Rohirrim”

The recent Lord of the Rings movie, “The War of the Rohirrim” tells the story of Rohan’s conflict with the Dunlendings and the siege of Hornburg. The original tale, located in Appendix A, under “The House of Eorl”, focuses mainly on the king of Rohan, Helm Hammerhand. The new movie also focuses on Helm’s daughter Hera though. Much of the movie is about how Hera came to be the hero of her people, “But do not look for tales of her in the old songs. There are none.”

Warning: this post contains spoilers 

What was done well:

• Almost nothing from Tolkien’s original tale was removed, staying true to the short passage in the appendices that the movie was based off of.  

◦ This is an uncommon virtue, as most book to movie adaptations remove a lot of original content from books 

◦ Many specific details that were not necessarily crucial to the plot, like Helm using his fists against his enemies, were preserved. 

• Most of the storyline added just for the movie was within reason and is compatible with the original material.

◦ Hera, the main character, is not described in the appendices, but it is not difficult to believe that she is wild and strong-willed considering her relation to the similarly characterized Helm and the characterization of the Rohirrim in general. 

◦ The scene where orcs/goblins were shown feasting on the Dunlendings makes sense within the context of the story as an explanation of what actually happened to the people the Dunlendings thought Helm cannibalized. It reaffirms to the audience that Helm might be out there but he isn’t that crazy.

• The new music worked well with Rohan’s original theme, and was fitting for an epic tale. 

• There was a prevalent use of symbolism throughout the film

◦ Objects like the harp, wedding dress, and shield were used to represent larger themes within the movie and the story.

◦ Often, the significance of these objects was directly stated.  

What could be improved:

• Anime was definitely not the right medium to tell a Lord of the Rings story through.

◦ The quintessential fantasy setting of Middle Earth is lost to the anime. Much of the inspirational undertones are lost as well. Without mentions of familiar names and places, you completely forget you’re watching a Lord of the Rings movie. 

◦ There is way too much “anime angst” especially in the whole Wulf-and-Hera-were-actually-friends storyline. It gets a bit ridiculous. Not that anime is necessarily bad, but it just doesn’t go with an adaptation of Tolkien’s work. 

◦ Many of the characters look rather silly for a medieval setting. For example, Hera looks like a stereotypical anime school girl, and her brother Haleth looks like he joined a rock band. 

◦ If they had wanted to use animation in general, they should have gone with a style similar to that of Marvel’s “What If…”

• There are some gaps in logic throughout the film. For example…

◦ Helm, Hera, and Olwyn the shield-maiden pry open the gates in the front of Hornburg just enough for Hera to enter. Instead of using the time to open the gates a little more so Helm can squeeze through, he gives Hera a long farewell speech. If he had actually tried to get into Hornburg, then a farewell speech would be unnecessary. Besides, if the gate to an impenetrable fortress could be opened by just three people, then what’s the point of having an impenetrable fortress?

◦ Towards the end of the movie, soldiers of Rohan shoot flaming arrows at a wooden siege tower, but only after the enemy coverts it into a bridge and actively invades the fort. They obviously knew about the siege tower beforehand and could’ve easily burnt it down before things escalated. 

◦ In the beginning of the film, Hera’s brother Hama has a horse that is clearly ill, yet he is allowed to ride it into battle anyway. “Rohirrim” literally translates to “horse lords”; they must’ve had at least one extra horse that he could’ve used instead. It makes little sense that even after Hera points this out to him, he still endangers himself (and the horse he is emotionally attached to), and nobody else warns him that it’s a bad idea. 

• The Wulf-and-Hera-were-actually-friends storyline is very out of place and oversimplifies the root and purpose of the conflict. 

◦ Wulf’s apparent obsession with Hera and injured feelings are emphasized more than the actual explanation of why the Dunlendings are bad, or why the Rohirrim are at odds with them. The portion of the appendices that the movie is based on is only four pages, they definitely could of used some of the two hour movie to elaborate on these important details. 

◦ Wulf is clearly a deranged kidnapper, traitor, and later a murderer. Of course after he sent his lackeys to abduct Hera, assaulted her, and threatened to attack her kingdom she’s not going to want to marry him. It’s almost presented in a way like we’re supposed to feel bad for him.

In conclusion, “The War of the Rohirrim” is a satisfactory film. Like any movie, it has both its strengths and short-comings. There are elements done extremely well and loyally to the source material, but there are also some questionable components that could be improved. I would recommend this movie as something interesting to watch, but not necessarily as a cinematic masterpiece.