Movie Review: A ‘Lord of the Rings’ Tradition Turns Small-Scale in the Anime ‘Rohirrim’

Joseph Chou, left, and Brian Cox arrive at the New Zealand Premiere of "The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim," in Hobbiton, New Zealand, Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024. (AP)
Joseph Chou, left, and Brian Cox arrive at the New Zealand Premiere of "The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim," in Hobbiton, New Zealand, Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024. (AP)
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Movie Review: A ‘Lord of the Rings’ Tradition Turns Small-Scale in the Anime ‘Rohirrim’

Joseph Chou, left, and Brian Cox arrive at the New Zealand Premiere of "The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim," in Hobbiton, New Zealand, Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024. (AP)
Joseph Chou, left, and Brian Cox arrive at the New Zealand Premiere of "The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim," in Hobbiton, New Zealand, Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024. (AP)

It’s a discombobulating experience, after a “Lord of the Rings” trilogy that was built, down to every frame and hobbit hair, for the big screen, to see something so comparatively minor, small-scaled and TV-sized as “The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim.”

The film, set 183 years before the events of “The Hobbit,” is a return to Middle-earth that, despite some very earnest storytelling, never supplies much of an answer as to why, exactly, it exists.

“Rohirrim,” which sounds a little like the sound an orc might make sneezing, is perhaps best understood as a placeholder for further cinematic universe extrapolation from J.R.R. Tolkien’s books. (A live-action movie about Gollum is due out in 2026.) Here, the thin basis in Tolkien comes from the “Lord of the Rings” appendix, which lists a history of Rohan, the plains kingdom south of the Elven forest of Lothlórien.

A small army of screenwriters – Jeffrey Addiss, Will Matthews, Phoebe Gittins and Arty Papageorgiou – have from those faint embers conjured a fiery war movie, made as an anime by director Kenji Kamiyama (“Ghost in the Shell: Stand Along Complex,” “Blade Runner: Black Lotus”). The obviously talented Kamiyama fashions some dazzling vintage anime visuals that — and perhaps this isn’t all bad — feels a world apart from Peter Jackson’s Middle-earth features.

But “The War of Rohirrim” also feels conspicuously closer to 1990s direct-to-video release than an heir to some of the grandest big-screen fantasy storytelling of the past 25 years. Though there are many — too many — examples of Hollywood over-mining once-rich intellectual property, this dull, appendix-extracted anime adds to a not particularly Tolkienist tradition.

Tolkien diehards, though, may be grateful for whatever “The Lord of the Rings” morsels they can find. And there is some precedent. Before Jackson (an executive producer here) built Middle-earth in New Zealand, “The Lord of the Rings” prompted a pair of 1970s animated TV specials and a not-much-remembered animated 1978 movie.

“The War of Rohirrim” concerns the adventures of Hera (voiced by Gaia Wise), daughter of Helm Hammerhand (Brian Cox), the Rohan king. Cox, coming off of “Succession,” again finds himself beset with trouble over the future of his throne.

Things get underway when Freka (Shaun Dolley), leader of the Dundelings, offers his son Wulf (Luke Pasqualino) to marry Hera and take the throne. After a swift refusal, a fight ensues, and with a mere punch, Helm accidentally kills Freka. Given how extreme Wulf’s vengeance is following this punch, it’s fair to wonder if “The War of Rohirrim” could have been started just as easily with a slap or, perhaps, an overly aggressive noogie.

But only self-seriousness reigns in this “Lord of the Rings” adventure. When the battle begins, Hera must save her people, which she strives to do by retreating to a fortress dug into a mountainside. Hera’s story is said to be one lost to history in the opening narration, but “The War of Rohirrim” is just as much an origin story for the stronghold that will later be known as Helm’s Deep.

I don’t begrudge any Tolkien addict a little anime fun — and maybe these references and callbacks will be enough to conjure some of the majesty of the books or Jackson’s movies. You can tell "Rohirrim” was made with sincere belief in the world Tolkien created. But I found the connective tissue, like the few notes from Howard Shore’s original score that float in, only reinforced how such grander movie ambitions once came to Rohan. “The War of the Rohirrim” does manage to recapture one trait of the earlier films: at 134 minutes, it’s long.



‘Severance,’ ‘The Penguin’ Lead Nominations for TV’s Emmy Awards

US actor Adam Scott attends PaleyFest LA screening of the season finale of "Severance" at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood, California, on March 21, 2025. (AFP)
US actor Adam Scott attends PaleyFest LA screening of the season finale of "Severance" at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood, California, on March 21, 2025. (AFP)
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‘Severance,’ ‘The Penguin’ Lead Nominations for TV’s Emmy Awards

US actor Adam Scott attends PaleyFest LA screening of the season finale of "Severance" at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood, California, on March 21, 2025. (AFP)
US actor Adam Scott attends PaleyFest LA screening of the season finale of "Severance" at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood, California, on March 21, 2025. (AFP)

Psychological thriller "Severance" from Apple TV+ and HBO's crime drama "The Penguin" stacked up the most nominations for Emmy Awards on Tuesday, outpacing "The Studio" and "The White Lotus" in the contest for television's highest honors.

"Severance" received a leading 27 nominations and was nominated for the top prize of best drama alongside Star Wars series "Andor,The Pitt,The White Lotus" and others.

"The Penguin," set in the DC Comics universe and starring Colin Farrell, earned 24 nominations and will compete for best limited series against Netflix hit "Adolescence," among others.

Hollywood satire "The Studio," an Apple TV+ show featuring Seth Rogen as a nervous film executive, and HBO's "The White Lotus," about murder and misdeeds at a luxury resort, received 23 each.

"What the heck?!! We never thought this would happen," Rogen said in a statement.

Comedy nominees included defending champion "Hacks," previous winner "The Bear,Nobody Wants This" and "Abbott Elementary."

The 23 nominations for "The Studio" tied the record for a comedy in a single season, set last year by Chicago restaurant tale "The Bear."

Winners of the Emmys will be announced at a red-carpet ceremony in Los Angeles, broadcast live on CBS on September 14. Comedian Nate Bargatze will host.

The television industry is undergoing a contraction as media companies curtail the sky-high spending they shelled out to compete in the shift to streaming platforms led by Netflix.

Longtime Emmy favorite HBO and the HBO Max streaming service topped all programmers with 142 nominations, a record for the network.

Walt Disney collected 137 nominations, including six for ABC's "Abbott Elementary," one of the few broadcast shows in the Emmy mix. "Andor," on Disney+, received 14.

Netflix garnered 120 nods and Apple scored 81, its highest total since launching its streaming service in 2019.

"Severance" tells the story of office workers who undergo a procedure to make them forget their home life at work, and vice versa.

"It's distinctive in every way - in terms of its storytelling, in terms of style, in terms of its directing, its tone," said Matt Cherniss, head of programming at Apple TV+.

Star Adam Scott, a best actor nominee, said the cast was unsure how viewers would respond.

"The fact that it's resonated at all has been just such an incredible feeling," Scott said. "We thought it was something that might be too weird."

WYLE, FORD IN THE RUNNING

Noah Wyle received his first Emmy nomination since 1999 for his role as an emergency room doctor on "The Pitt." Wyle was nominated five times for "ER" but never won.

"I'm humbled and grateful," Wyle said of the recognition for "The Pitt," which received 13 total nominations.

Harrison Ford, 83, earned his first Emmy nod, for playing a grumpy therapist on "Shrinking."

Ron Howard, the former "Happy Days" star turned Oscar-winning director, also landed his first acting nomination, a guest actor nod for playing himself on "The Studio." He will compete with fellow director Martin Scorsese, also a guest star on the show.

Other notable acting nominees included Farrell and Cristin Milioti for "The Penguin,The Bear" actors Jeremy Allen White and Ayo Edebiri, "Hacks" stars Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder, Kathy Bates for "Matlock" and Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey for "The Last of Us."

Eight "White Lotus" actors were recognized.

"This is a bunch of cherries on the icing on the cake that was the gift of playing such a tortured and lonely human," said Jason Isaacs, who portrayed a suicidal father facing financial ruin on the show.

Beyonce also made the Emmys list. Her halftime performance during a National Football League game on Netflix was nominated for best live variety special.

Missing from the field was Netflix's popular Korean drama "Squid Game," while the final season of previous drama winner "The Handmaid's Tale" received just one nod.

Winners will be chosen by the roughly 26,000 performers, directors, producers and other members of the Television Academy.