Feels like I was one of these small fist of people who actually watched the latest lord of the rings The film hits theaters over the weekend. The anime picture, executive produced by the original trilogy’s Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh, was an unmitigated box office disaster for the franchise, grossing less than $5 million. But despite this, what was the film itself like? I guess it depends on your tolerance for anime and your interest in Tolkien’s works. If you’re a fan of both, you’re in for a solid, if derivative, time, but if you’re not a fan of one or both, you don’t have much to sell.
war of the rohirrim is an anime film directed by Kenji Kamiyama and takes place approximately 200 years before Biblo finds the One Ring. As the title suggests, the film takes place in the Kingdom of Rohan and describes the conflict between them and the Dunlendings. The film is narrated by Éowyn (Mirando Otto) and we get to see the conflict through the perspective of the king’s daughter, whose name is unknown and not included in Tolkien’s Legendarium. But the film acknowledges this early on, with Iovine mentioning that the heroics of Hera (Gaia Wise) will remain unsung for the ages, allowing the filmmakers to tell Tolkien’s story from an original character’s point of view. Get it, and it works. Hera is likeable and doesn’t break principle, so everyone wins.
The main conflict arises when the Dunlending lord Freka presents his son Wolf as a candidate to marry King Helm Hammerhand’s daughter Hera. But Helm isn’t interested in that; She will be married to Gondor and the alliance between the two kingdoms will be secure. Meanwhile, Hera is completely disinterested in this arrangement and angry that she has no say in her life, she pursues more material exploration and adventures. Helm suspects that Fricka is making a play for the throne and challenges Dunlending to an unarmed duel. But the King kills Freeka with a single punch, causing the Wolf to swear revenge on Rohan.
Compared to the War of the Ring, the conflict between Rohan and the Wulf is very small. So much so that I can’t help but wonder if this movie should have been live-action. Yes, this movie was clearly made so that New Line and Warner Bros. could retain the Middle-Earth license, so using animation helped them cut costs, but maybe they were already concerned about the deadline. Should have thought and planned accordingly. There’s no wizard magic or huge armies in this conflict, so I think returning to old sets and locations would have been an easier sell to audiences, while still adapting its elements. The Silmarillion Would lend itself better to animation.
That said, the art design is great – especially the locations. Edoras and the Hornberg, also known as Helm’s Deep, look exactly as they did in the Peter Jackson films, and the detail is impressive. There’s some animation junk in there, especially with the horses and how they run, and some character details get lost when the camera is zoomed out more, but it’s more affecting than that, but I can’t help but. I think this is a movie Princess Mononoke Still looks better and that movie came out in 1997. My guess is that the animation suffered at times due to the film Fast tracked. Despite being an anime, the action is overall based largely on; There are a few moments of embellishment in the action, but they are few and far between and they never took me out of the film. What was consistently on-point was the sound design. From Helm’s powerful punches to the terrifying screams of Mommakill (also known as the Oliphants), this film roars in all the right ways. The voicing is also very good, especially the voice of Helm Hammerhand of succession Brian Cox, whose booming voice shakes the hall. He is a larger than life character and certainly feels like a more mythological figure due to his impressive strength and build despite his advancing age.
I think the biggest problem is Rohirrim That narratively (and visually) speaking there are a lot of similarities two towersThis is not actually the filmmakers’ fault, as Tolkien’s brief documentation of the event in Appendix A shared many of the same plot points, such as the Rohirrim evacuating Edoras and making their way to Hornburg, where The besieged were treated as refugees. wait for help echo two towers For a mistake. But it makes the viewing experience feel familiar and derivative of that film. Narratively speaking, there are also many parallels between Hera and Éowyn. She’s a solid character in her own right, but despite being likable, her story feels like we’ve been there before.
The final experience is still quite enjoyable. I think you already have to be a fan of the Jackson adaptations or The Lord of the Rings to really appreciate it, plus being a fan of the animation helps sell the film. I can’t see this as an introductory point for a newcomer; Not because it’s dense or complex, but because it seems made for pre-established fans (who didn’t show up). If I were to specifically compare the end result to other Jackson films the hobbit Movies, I would say it would be somewhere between first and second in terms of quality, assuming a ranking of 2, 1 and then 3. But it’s still a far cry from the original Lord of the Rings trilogy. Whether this is an issue or not really depends on you. For me, I had a great time going back to Middle-earth with the visuals and music, but I know this movie won’t be for everyone and I understand that this movie is an easy one to keep up with on its own. It was created as a method. Instead of having anything worthwhile to add to the filmography, it’s an IP.
