The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, 2024.

Directed by Kenji Kamiyama.
Featuring the voice talents of Brian Cox, Gaia Wise, Luke Pasqualino, Miranda Otto, Christopher Lee, Lorraine Ashbourne, Yazdan Qafouri, Benjamin Wainwright, Laurence Ubong Williams, Shaun Dooley, Jude Akuwudike, Michael Wildman, Bilal Hasna, and Janine Duvitski.

SYNOPSIS:

A sudden attack by Wulf, a clever and ruthless Dunlending lord seeking vengeance for the death of his father, forces Helm Hammerhand, the King of Rohan, and his people to make a daring last stand in the ancient stronghold of the Hornburg.

Despite the enticing novelty of strikingly colorful hand-drawn animation coming across as a blend between Western high fantasy and Japanese anime, director Kenji Kamiyama’s (working from a bloated yet lacking screenplay from the crowded team of Jeffrey Addiss, Will Matthews, Phoebe Gittins, and Arty Papageorgiou, with some of the characters here created by none other than J.R.R. Tolkien) The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim is disappointingly clichéd, dull, and bland.

The narrative doesn’t necessarily feel specific to The Lord of the Rings (even if there are some tie-ins, such as orcs looting rings or late, brief appearances from significant characters of the franchise), but more so a tale of war and feminism empowerment that could have been from a separate universe if not for a couple of familiar characters and locales present here. It’s one of those situations where, if one changes around a small number of names, locations, and lore, what’s left is blueprint generic fantasy.

The screenplay is so concerned with action and the ensuing war (which isn’t necessarily inherently a bad thing) that the depth it gives to lead heroine Hera (voiced by Gaia Wise), daughter of Rohan king Helm Hammerhand (a name fans will instantly register, lent the distinct voice of Brian Cox), is that she is wild and rebellious while having an almost-telepathic connection to animals, whether it be her trusty horse or birds she helps in her free time. Once that five minutes of introductory exposition is out of the way, the political intrigue and backstabbing begin, with Helm betrayed by the Dunderlings.

After disagreements about alliances and how to handle an impending “long winter,” giving the feeling that the filmmakers are also going for a Game of Thrones feel, their leader challenges Helm to one-on-one combat, where he dies from one punch. This leaves his son, Wulf (voiced by Luke Pasqualino), a childhood friend of Hera, so enraged that the only thing on his mind is conquest and murder, to such a degree that the childhood friendship is never explored again. Meanwhile, Hera, who doesn’t consider herself a leader, wants to actively participate in defending her land but is quickly shut down by her father, who insists that she is to be protected whether she wants to be or not (which is uncomfortable and socially relevant rhetorical.)

As Wulf continues to start skirmishes and pick off Hera’s siblings (her cousin is also sent away for behaving in a manner Helm disapproves of), the conflict between daughter and father grows until the predictably inevitable occurs. He realizes the error of his ways and encourages her to be the warrior she has always meant to be, even if she is still uncertain about leaving the entire army and Shield Maidens (women who once protected this land when there were no more men soldiers left to do so.) The conversations between Hera and the latter are some of the most interesting segments, preparing the former to step into a larger role.

This is boilerplate material that the filmmakers hope to distract from with near-nonstop action. The problem is that most of those battle sequences are weightless since the characters are still thinly written (which is majorly frustrating, considering we know how compelling and emotionally absorbing stories within this franchise can be.) Even the animation, which is nice to look at, occasionally feels off and sluggish in motion. Unsurprisingly, the story doesn’t become engaging until Hera’s born leadership qualities, bravery, and physicality are put front and center, but that’s also after 90+ minutes of routine fantasy storytelling. The music (courtesy of Stephen Gallagher) is also flat, save for whenever the film pulls out a legacy piece from Howard Shore (and some beautiful ending credits songs.)

Apparently, The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim was fast-tracked into production so New Line could hold onto cinematic rights for novel adaptations. The result fits with that information, as much of what’s here feels hastily written and constructed without giving that narrative a second. It ends with a similar narration, mentioning that Hera is still wild and free as she starts on a solo adventure. One presumes a movie exclusively about her, separated from so much other political baggage and family drama, would have provided more refreshingly tantalizing opportunities, yielding something richer and more exhilarating.

Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★

Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Critics Choice Association. He is also the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check here for new reviews, follow my Twitter or Letterboxd, or email me at MetalGearSolid719@gmail.com

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=embed/playlist

Jay-Z is seeking to have a lawsuit accusing him of rape dismissed after the accuser recently admitted there are several inconsistencies in her recollection of the alleged incident, which took place 24 years ago.

The lawsuit was initially filed against Sean “Diddy” Combs in October, and accused Combs of raping a 13-year-old girl at a house party after the MTV Video Music Awards in 2000. On Sunday, the complaint was amended in U.S. District Court in New York to add Jay-Z as a defendant. It alleges he and Combs “took turns assaulting the minor.”

Both Combs and Jay-Z, whose real name is Shawn Carter, have denied the allegations.

The accuser, listed as a Jane Doe in the complaint, is a 38-year-old woman from Alabama. In an interview with NBC News, the woman said that she stands by her allegations overall, but has “made some mistakes” when it comes to her memory of the night.

The woman had claimed she spoke with musician Benji Madden at the New York after-party, but a representative said neither he nor his brother, Joel, attended that year’s VMAs, as they were touring the Midwest at the time, NBC News reported.

She also said that her father picked her up after the alleged rape. But he has told NBC News he has no recollection of doing so.

Some photos of Carter and Combs on the night of the alleged incident do not match the description of the location where the woman said the assault took place, according to NBC News.

On Friday, Carter issued a statement proclaiming his innocence and denouncing the woman’s Texas-based attorney, Tony Buzbee.

“This incident didn’t happen and yet he [Buzbee] filed it in court and doubled down in the press,” he said. “True Justice is coming. We fight FROM victory, not FOR victory. This was over before it began. This 1-800 lawyer doesn’t realize it yet, but, soon.”

Carter’s lawyer, Alex Spiro, issued a statement saying he was asking the court to dismiss the case and will seek discipline against Buzbee and the other attorneys who filed the complaint.

“It is stunning that a lawyer would not only file such a serious complaint without proper vetting, but would make things worse by further peddling this false story in the press,” Spiro said.

Buzbee told NBC News his client continues to stand by her claims and has agreed to submit to a polygraph test. He also said his law firm was continuing to vet her claims and track down corroborating evidence.

He did not immediately respond to The Times’ request for comment Friday.

Buzbee has filed several lawsuits against Combs since the rapper was arrested in New York in September.

Combs has been charged with racketeering, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution. He has pleaded not guilty and is in custody in New York awaiting the start of his trial in May.

Times staff writer Richard Winton contributed to this report.

In 2024, do I even need to explain what The Lord of the Rings (henceforth LotR) is? J.R.R. Tolkien‘s deeply iconic and highly influential masterpiece is widely considered among the all-time greatest works of fantasy. And even if you haven’t read the books, there’s a pretty good chance you’ve seen Peter Jackson‘s beloved film adaptations from 2001–2003, or at the very least seen any number of the almost cartoonishly long list of memes it’s spawned. Indeed, the world of these books has been retold and added to with varying levels of success time and time again in the seventy years since The Fellowship of the Ring was first published. And the latest such addition to this club is the franchise‘s first anime (but not first animated) movie, The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim (henceforth WotR).

Admittedly, there’s not a lot tying WotR to the rest of LotR. One could go into this movie with little or no LotR knowledge at all and be just fine—you’d miss a few winks and nods to LotR, but nothing so huge that you couldn’t understand and appreciate what was going on. They both take place in the same universe, and LotR fans will hear a few familiar names throughout the movie (and get a special cameo at the end), but WotR takes place roughly ~200 years before Frodo ever set his bare feet outside The Shire. Furthermore, WotR is centered on humans first and foremost—in fact, there are barely any non-human characters in the movie at all. Its primary connection and contribution to the world Tolkien built is a specific history on why Helm’s Deep is called, well, Helm’s Deep; a question that, admittedly, I don’t think many (if any at all) LotR fans were actively curious to learn more about, but at the same time, thorough worldbuilding has always been a hallmark of Tolkien, so I don’t necessarily mind that.

If there is anything I mind in this movie, it would probably (and surprisingly) be the animation, which is so gorgeous at times. But then, at others, the mouth flap movements are just off enough that they become noticeable, and when you notice it even once, you can’t really unnotice it. At other moments, too, it’s really apparent that the backgrounds and the people or horses aren’t exactly on the same plane, if that makes sense—the people and horses look very obviously overlaid on the backgrounds, which, stylistically and visually, don’t quite match. Finally, the animation gets a bit rough when something particularly dynamic or high-movement is going on (which, to be clear, is often—there’s a lot of fighting, horse riding, and so on). Director Kenji Kamiyama is no stranger to anime or fast-paced action, so I was shocked that this animation often fell as short of the mark as it does.

Meanwhile, this movie’s greatest strength is one of its main characters: none other than the force of nature that is Helm Hammerhand, who’s brought to life by the legendary Brian Cox—whom ANN recently got to interview, alongside Gaia Wise. He’s exactly the kind of bombastic powerhouse that you love to run into in anime, and Cox—still relatively fresh off the heels of playing screamy-old-man Logan Roy in Succession—can (predictably) match that energy perfectly. As for everyone else, it’s hard to shine your brightest when you have to share a stage with a character who exudes as much hot-bloodedness and charisma as Helm Hammerhand. Not even the other central protagonist of the film, Héra (voiced by Gaia Wise), can quite measure up. Still, both she and Wulf are compelling enough characters—neither commanding the spotlight in the same way that Helm so often does, but also never fully allowing themselves to be swallowed up by Helm’s gravitational pull.

And falling somewhere in the middle is this movie’s story, which feels like a pretty standard-issue revenge affair. Fundamentally, it’s nothing you haven’t already seen played out a million times before—you just haven’t seen it with Helm Hammerhand. But even so, WotR doesn’t exactly reinvent the wheel. It’s a story that opts to do what it’s doing well rather than to do it in a unique way, which is fine; it just makes it err on the side of forgettability.

WotR probably won’t become a must-watch addition to your LotR marathon any time soon, but it’s still an enjoyable—if a bit underwhelming—adventure movie. Comparing it to other pieces of LotR media feels somewhat like a pitfall, because few franchises simultaneously have as monumental highs and astronomical lows as LotR does. Falling somewhere in the middle of this feels almost inevitable, but “somewhere in the middle” could mean anything when the distance between LotR‘s peaks and valleys is so vast. But at the same time, the fact remains that it is a piece of LotR media—one that pales in comparison to the best entries but is still far from the worst we’ve seen from Tolkien’s world. And even as a standalone piece, it’s a solid adventure movie, but lacks a certain wow-factor—a wow-factor, one can’t help but feel reminded, that’s often present in LotR‘s better entries.