🐴 The Lord of the Rings: The ⚔️War of the Rohirrim

[Halasían]

Screenrant? Dont bother. Its clickbait websites as quality tested as Kotaku. Its brainrot and very much non serious website.

Maybe. I just screenshot the headline. It's been talked about a lot on many sites.

 

[Maedhros_Nelyafinwë]

I just saw the movie and I enjoyed it way more than I thought I would! I found it unexpectedly heartfelt and moving. And even though I'm really not a fan of the fantasy princess trope where she hates wearing dresses and prefers to wear pants and fight men three times her size, the trope wasn't nearly as bad as I'd thought it would be. It annoyed me a bit in the beginning, but I soon got interested enough in the story, and Héra fit more naturally into it.

 

[Berzelmayr]

just $15,370,171 worldwide after the second weekend.

 

[CirdanLinweilin]

just $15,370,171 worldwide after the second weekend.

Ouch......

CL

 

[Squint-eyed Southerner]

Very little promotion, which makes sense if, as I've been seeing, its main purpose was to retain the rights, as promotion adds greatly to the cost. Apparently the studio will be satisfied with breaking even.

Somewhat disappointing for us, of course, but understandable.

 

[CirdanLinweilin]

Very little promotion, which makes sense if, as I've been seeing, its main purpose was to retain the rights, as promotion adds greatly to the cost. Apparently the studio will be satisfied with breaking even.

Somewhat disappointing for us, of course, but understandable.

Corpos gunna corpo.


CL

 

[Halasían]

just $15,370,171 worldwide after the second weekend.

If you're worried it won't make $30 million, get out there to the theatre and watch it.
I was actually planning to go see it again before it leaves the theatres.

 

[Squint-eyed Southerner]

Then there'll be the streaming fees.

And possible DVD? Are those still being made?

 

[Fingon_Findekáno]

And possible DVD? Are those still being made?

Yes, there will be a DVD, I’ve heard, with a steelbook case. It’s supposed to come out in February.

 

[Fingon_Findekáno]

I haven’t seen the movie yet, but I’m really hoping to sometime soon, when I can find the time. There have been many interesting movies out recently, and it’s hard to see them all, and with the right people.

 

[Ugluk]

I find it fascinating that the fashion discussion is far more interesting and insightful than the film!

 

[Ashley]

I'm hoping to go see it soon.

 

[Laurë]

If you're worried it won't make $30 million, get out there to the theatre and watch it.
I was actually planning to go see it again before it leaves the theatres.

I finally found out what my family's plans are, and we'll be going out to see it on Christmas eve morning, which I'm very excited for! I'm glad I'll have the chance to see it in theater.

That does mean of course it'll take me longer to figure out and write my review because of the holiday, but that's a good thing I think. A lot of times I need time to let my thoughts marinate and develop.

 

[Elwing the White]

I came back from watching the movie today in the theatre with @Idril Celebrindal. Overall, I thought it was alright: not as great as the Lord of the Rings movies, but decent enough that I felt like it was worth watching.

There were many issues with the film, yes, and it could definitely be improved, but there were also some things that I genuinely enjoyed.

The concept of the movie as a whole seemed quite interesting, even though it isn't a very central part of the stories that Tolkien wrote. I enjoyed the start of the movie and the narration by Miranda Otto. It might have been possible to shorten it a bit, but at least the action moves forward as she is speaking, and I liked the notion that Eowyn could be the one telling the tale. Hera was really not all the interesting as a main character, but I understand why the would want her to be more central to the story. The narrative of her being a shield maiden and related to the king kind of mirrored Eowyn's story in some way, which furthermore adds to the significance of having her be the one to speak of it. However, the shield maiden part could have been a lot more well written, but more on that later. The whole thing about the story not being remembered in great tales or songs was intriguing but I didn't really get why it wouldn't be spoken of years later, but perhaps that's just me. Freca, the Dunlending lord, was a bit over the top, but I'm glad he doesn't appear for long. Wulf's motives could have been more explained and I wish that he could have been more justified in his actions in the sense that what he does makes a bit more sense unto why he does it. I wish the dynamic between Hera and Wulf could have been a little more interesting, with the whole she-accidently-gave-him-a-scar-over-his-eye thing. The thing where Freca does not like the fact that Helm wants to marry Hera off to a lord of Gondor and how he tries to convince Helm to marry his daughter to Wulf instead could have been appealing if they had possibly shown Wulf in perhaps a brighter light. I felt as though he could have been more concerned about Rohan while at the same time also wanted the throne (obviously in the sense of Wulf, not his father). I think he could have been made into a more entertaining figure this way. Freca trying to usurp Rohan's throne was an explainable motive, it didn't feel like he randomly decided to attack Rohan's king for no reason. During this action, I felt as though the dialogue could have been cut a bit, but it was never to a point where they were droning. I felt like Wulf could have been a more compelling character if he was actually in love with Hera, genuinely worried about the threat the Gondor posed, and wanted to also please his father. Wulf's characterization was well enough the way it was done, but I would have felt more sympathy for him and his actions. Hera being uninterested in marriage was a bit ridiculous to me. I understand not wanting to marry Wulf in particular, and preferring to wed someone of Gondor, but it seemed to fit all too well into the whole "strong women don't need men" thing. The battle between the two's father was fine, but the talking was a bit extra and the way he kills Freca a little improbable, despite the fact that it is in the books. His reaction also could have been more shocked. Wulf's vow of revenge could have been slightly cut. The whole Mumak thing was a bit fanciful and unreal. I feel like they could have replaced it with something else to feed the action and flow of the film. Targg was a very bizarre character and I didn't enjoy his appearances much at all. The rescue scene was fine except for the fact that old lady Olwyn is somehow defeating soldiers. I also didn't like the unreasonable exile of Frealaf. The deaths of Haleth and Hama were done pretty well, I liked how silent the scenes before Haleth's demise and the way it doesn't show how he dies, as it would not be necessary. Helm's words at Hama's death could have been cut but I'm super glad that Hama didn't give a whole speech about his sacrifice to everyone, which made his death more impacting. Helm was made to be a bit overly strong during his period of madness, which did not seem real. However, his death was done well, even if the dialogue could have been shortened. The scenes with the eagles were a bit out of place though. The end fight between Wulf and Hera was absolutely ridiculous, though, and was quite unrealistic, but that could just be because its anime. I was dreading the notion of her becoming queen, but I was glad she turned the power down.
Most of the problems center around Hera. I thought that she was very on the edge of the strong female archetype. I did find her beginning scenes to be okay, and I liked the way that she killed Thorne. I was expecting a battle scene between the two where she unrealistically overpowers him and defeats him on her own without any help. But the way the scene was executed was actually believable. He is much stronger than her, so he obviously is able to beat her quickly, but she has help from her horse, who kicks him (which completely makes sense that it would weaken him, as anyone who as been around horses knows), and she sort of accidently killed him with a sharp object which he half-falls into and she half-stabs him with. I think that the moments were well made in the sense that she defeats him in a way feels real. The parts of the movie beforehand where she is with the eagles is a bit far-fetched, however. The same goes for the oliphaunt and the Watcher in the Water clips, as I said before. I also felt like she could have developed more, and that she should have died.

However, the movie got many of the basics right, and it was worth my time (as most of the issues I mention weren't really things that I disliked, just what could have been improved).

 

[Laurë]

I was able to watch it this morning, and I really liked it! I'll get around to writing a review of it later (I'm busy today as I'm sure you can imagine). But, in general I really enjoyed that film! It wasn't perfect, it wasn't incredible, but it was really solid and I enjoyed watching it. A 4/5 or 8/10 for me, I'll get around to writing about why later.

Mostly I wanted to pop back on this thread immediately after seeing it because I was wrong!! Allow me to harken back to our fashion discussion, where I concluded that Hera's strange little belt was just that, a singular belt. It looked that way from the promotional images I was able to find.

However, after watching the film and being able to see her outfit from more angles, it's clear that the little belt is actually part of a harness, like in the Metroid character design that @herlig9 posted.

I didn't realize that the brown leather pieces on her shoulders actually came down into a back piece that connected with her little belt. Here you can see the shoulder pieces:

As far as I could tell from the animation, it is actually connected.

Of course, during the movie Hera doesn't really use the harness to carry things or as a part of climbing equipment, which is fine, it's likely just a fashion piece--kind of like a . . . leather sleeveless bolero, or something. It just makes a lot more sense now that I've released it actually connects.

Anyway, I just felt the need to correct myself 😅

 

[Halasían]

Love reading the reviews!

Looks like it only has a two-week theatre run before going to streaming.

 

[Idril Celebrindal]

I enjoyed watching The War of the Rohhirim with @Elwing the White. There were a lot of plot holes and some parts that I thought were overdramatic, but in general I would give it 6.5/10. I was worried that Hera would act like a powerpuff girl, but she was actually pretty good. Her physical strength was very unrealistic, but other than that there weren't really any moments where she was screaming "Look at meeeeeee! I'm a strong female characterrrr!!!". If I'd watched the movie by myself I would probably be really frustrated at the weaker points in the movie, but since I had Elwing and two other friends with me we could laugh (we were the only ones in the cinema) at the weak points which made them less annoying. Since this was the first anime movie I've ever watched, I was a bit frustrated by the animation at first, but later I actually started to like it. The start of the movie gave a good introduction, what with the whole Wulf-Hera-Helm thing. I liked how they adapted "Where now the horse and the rider" to have Hama singing it about his sister. I think that both of Hera's brothers were well done, especially ***spoiler alert*** their deaths. I agree with Elwing, the Oliphant scenes were strange. Not sure how an Oliphant got all the way to Rohan from the South, and Watchers in the Water can't be that common, can they? Later, when Hera gets captured she is rescued by an old woman who somehow manages to fight off 2 burly warriors and survive. I think it would have been a lot better if they had her die while fighting them, so that she would give her life for Hera. That would have actually made sense and been more meaningful. Helm banishing of Hera's cousin was pointless and really took away from Helm's character. The battle with the Dunlendings was very well done, I especially like the scene where Hera says farewell to Haleth and Hama, and later Haleth and Hama's deaths were moving. I was glad that they didn't have Hera fight but instead she helped in other ways. I especially liked the scene just before Hama is captured by the Dunlendings after his horse is too exhausted to run, how he says "well, this is what the old stories are made of" (or something like that). I also liked how Hama was silent when he was killed by Wulf, that he didn't give a whole speech about sacrificing himself for his people. Helm's madness and later his death were very well done and loyal to the book, I liked how somebody was singing a lament for him. The orcs searching for rings was funny. After that, things started to go a bit downhill. Hera's battle with Wulf was nonsensical. First of all, she decides to go to battle in a wedding dress, of all things. And Hera is supposed to be smart (she managed to defeat 2 Oliphants, after all). I understand that it's metaphorical and all that, but Wulf was wearing armor and she wasn't and she still somehow won. I'm surprised she didn't trip over the dress. Secondly, Wulf is, like, three times the size of Hera and probably five times stronger (plus he's wearing heavy armor), and skinny Hera somehow manages to tip him over and knock him to the ground. He gets back up, but then an eagle swoops down and carries him away. Then we cut to a different scene. When we come back to Hera, she's still fighting Wulf, despite the fact that the eagle just carried him away. That seems like something AI would do. Then Wulf says some stuff about Hera being the better one and that he surrenders and whatnot, lulling her into a false sense of security, and then attacks her. I liked that, that was creative. I was under the impression that Wulf stabbed Hera, but apparently not. They grapple for a bit and then she manages to throw him to the ground AGAIN, and then hold him there. I mean, come on. Then she chockes (no idea how to spell that) him with her shield and he dies, and then Hera's cousin comes and saves the day just like Eomer. I think it would have been a lot better if Hera had died while fighting Wulf but would have still given her people enough time to escape. That would have made a lot more sense and would have completed Hera's character. The eagles were also a LOT larger than in the LOTR movies. The end was good, I'm glad (and very relieved) that Hera didn't become the queen of Rohan, that it was her cousin. Her and the old woman riding off into the sunset was a good ending. Overall, I liked this movie. It was fun watching it and I think I'll rewatch it every year or so. I would recommend going to see it. It's also a lot better if you watch it with a buddy because then you can laugh at the nonsensical parts and appreciate the serious ones.

 

[Squint-eyed Southerner]

Good review. 🙂

Since this was the first anime movie I've ever watched, I was a bit frustrated by the animation at first, but later I actually started to like it.

Off topic, but if you want to see what can be done with anime, watch a couple of Miyazaki movies!

 

[Laurë]

Off topic, but if you want to see what can be done with anime, watch a couple of Miyazaki movies!

Studio Ghibli movies are wonderful! Though, I would keep in mind for anyone going into them for the first time that his films tend to be artsy-er, and more aimed at children, then this film was. The movie most comparable to WotR is probably Princess Mononoke (though Mononoke has better writing and animation, in my humble opinion).

Further on the topic of anime:

If you're looking for a sober fantasy anime with good writing, I also highly recommend Frieren: Beyond Journey's End. The first season of the anime came out this last year, and it's absolutely wonderful. It's a gentler story, that bounces between being a typical fantasy adventure and a slice of life. The quality of the animation is top tier as well, some of the best of 2d. Anime is actually undergoing a bit of a fantasy renaissance at the moment, as the genre over the in the east is finally moving away from Isekai. I recommend Frieren specifically though because it's a personal favorite and it has less what some would call . . . 'anime weirdness,' or typical anime tropes that might be hard for someone new to the genre to digest.

I'm happy to give more recommendations if anyone is interested in exploring anime or manga further.

 

[Shadow]

I have no interest to see this and won’t be making any effort.