The War of the Rohirrim is awesome, but still a little overwhelming

When you sit down to watch The Lord of the Rings. War of the Rohirrim no mistake, that’s it The Lord of the Rings movie the music, the cinematography, the soundtrack, everything about it was carefully and intelligently designed to fit seamlessly into the blockbuster, Oscar winning live action movies we know and love, and that nostalgia only helps to expand on a story that’s already pretty comprehensive and epic.

What happens, though, is you start to question why you’re watching this at all.In a world where anything is possible wizards, dragons and immortalityDoes the animation add anything to the story? Does it show something you’ll never see in live action? And the answer is, for? The Lord of the Rings. War of the Rohirrimmostly it’s not. It’s a disconnect that keeps a very good movie from being a classic from its franchise claims.

Directed by Kenji Kamiyama, from a screenplay by Jeffrey Addis, Will Matthews, Phoebe Gittins and Artie Papeorgio. The Lord of the Rings. War of the Rohirrim is about 200 years before the events that took place The Hobbit. It focuses on the people of Rohan, mainly the family of King Helm Hammerhand (Brian Cox), a powerful, popular ruler. When the king mistakenly kills a rival, the rival’s son Wolf (Luke Pasqualino) vows revenge, setting off a chain reaction will change Rohan forever.

The story centers on Hera (Gaia Weiss), the king’s only daughter who is loved by everyone but also underestimated.As her father and brothers (Hama and Hallett) deal with Wolf and his armies, it is Hera who keeps is Rohani together, especially when they have to enter the castle we know as Helm’s Deep. It’s not called that yet, and since you’ve just read King’s name, you can probably figure out why it’s called that and where the story is going.

War of the Rohirrim has a dynamite, thrilling first act, and a jaw-dropping third act. It’s a huge story, and there’s so much going on in it that you honestly can’t believe they managed to cram it all into one movie, though , is the middle of the film where things drag considerably.When Hera and Rohan find themselves stuck in Helm’s Deep, the film slows to a screeching halt In a way, that change of pace reflects the film’s story, but even so, it can be a big distraction. Fortunately, when it picks up again, the finale more or less makes up for it.

The pacing issues are also helped a bit by the fact War of the Rohirrim looks stunning. At the beginning of the film you see what you think is reality, and it’s only when a huge eagle flies into the frame that you realize it’s animated. That level of quality is present throughout, with every character, creature, scene and building drawn to look as full of life as the real thing.Even as the film drags on, the pleasure can diminish simply by admiring the look. War of the Rohirrim set the beauty bar high, which makes his violence and actions all the more compelling.

However, as beautiful as the movie looks, there’s rarely a moment of viewing where you can’t imagine the same thing in live action. That shouldn’t be a prerequisite for an anime like this, especially one that’s so beautifully crafted, but because it The Lord of the Rings and since Peter Jackson was able to do such amazing things in those films, it just hangs over this one like a cloud. Even when the story hits huge emotional hits and the stakes become literal life or death, it only works on that one level.

Which should be enough, right? Great characters, visuals, story, and stakes should be enough to make a movie a complete home run. War of the Rohirrim even starting to tie in The Lord of the Rings movies in ways that will please fans. Even at its best, you just can’t help but think that this whole movie has to have a better reason to exist than just to be a solid movie. And it doesn’t. Mistakes and all , it is certainly more complete and satisfying than The Hobbit films, but it can’t quite live up to its predecessors or most of the other fantastic animated films released this year The Lord of the Rings fan, you’ll enjoy it, but just go in with slightly tempered expectations.

The Lord of the Rings. War of the Rohirrim opens Friday.

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