‘War of the Rohirrim’ is mid-tier Middle-Earth adventure

An anime ‘Lord of the Rings’ prequel manages to stand on its own

Just who are the “Rohirrim” and why are they at war? Even the most devoted J.R.R. Tolkien might wonder what’s going on at first in the anime prequel “Lord of the Rings: War of the Rohirrim.” It’s set nearly two centuries before the events of the original trilogy, based on a single page in the books’ appendices. This was not a story that was exactly screaming to be told.

And yet, being so removed from Gollum, Frodo and the world of Middle-Earth we’ve come to know ends up being the biggest strength of “Rohirrim.” It frees up director Kenji Kamayama (“Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex”) to tell a self-contained, straightforward fantasy war story that pays homage to Akira Kurosawa and Hayao Miyazaki in equal measure. Hey, it beats having another one of those “Hobbit” movies.

As Eowyn (Miranda Otto returning from the original films) tells us in the voiceover narration, the heroine of the film is Hera (Gaia Wise). She’s the beloved daughter of the tempestuous King Hammerhand (Brian Cox in glorious high dudgeon) of Hornburg, but she’s just as rebellious as her father, and would rather ride her horse on the plains of Rohan than hang out in the palace or, Eru forbid, get married.

Things go awry in Rohan when Hammerhand gets into a squabble with the rival Lord of the West March, and accidentally kills him in hand-to-hand combat. This doesn’t sit well with the Lord’s son, Wulf (Luke Pasqualino), an old childhood friend of Hera’s. Wulf is banished from the kingdom, but returns with an army of ferocious Wildmen from nearby Dunland, and a civil war breaks out.

“Rohirrim” is particularly geared towards those “LOTR” fans who liked the big battles at the end of “The Two Towers” and “Return of the King.” There’s little magic, not many mythical creatures, and only one ring seen fleetingly. The rest is epic battles, as Wulf and the Dunlendings lay siege to Hornburg, and Hera is forced to take a leadership role to protect her people.

(Photos courtesy of Warner Bros. Animation/New Line Cinema)

At 134 minutes, the war is fought a little slowly for my tastes, as the film patiently lays out the tactics and strategies of both sides. And the characters are all fairly one-note, although Cox’s voice acting manages to dredge up a little Lear-like sorrow in his misbegotten King.

But the battles are thrilling, with the animation a mix of motion-capture and hand-drawn 2D animation, giving the action a visceral edge as well as a painterly beauty. The violence is strong enough to earn a PG-13 rating, with several genuinely surprising deaths on and off the battlefield.

Unlike the Prime Video series “Rings of Power,” this is a “Lord of the Rings” prequel that is barely interested in making connections to the source material. Any callbacks (or callforwards?) to “Lord of the Rings” end up breaking the spell, such as a very ill-advised cameo at the end of the movie.

It’s been a decade since the last “Hobbit” movie, and “War of the Rohirrim” was clearly born out of a desire by Warner Bros. to make something in the Tolkien universe and not risk losing the film rights to the franchise. But that financial desperation has unexpectedly produced a sturdy, worthy addition to the canon. It turns out Middle-Earth is a big place, with a lot of stories left to tell.

“Lord of the Rings: War of the Rohirrim” opens Friday in theaters. In Madison, it will play at Marcus Point, Marcus Palace, AMC Fitchburg 18 and Flix Brewhouse Madison.