The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim (2024)
I honestly don't understand what went wrong at the box office with this one. Kenji Kamiyama's animated take on Tolkien came and went in late 2024 with barely a ripple, dismissed by critics and ignored by audiences, and I cannot for the life of me work out why. Because I loved it. Genuinely, thoroughly, maybe even unreservedly loved it.
Going in, I'd braced myself for disappointment. The muted reception had done its damage, and I was half-expecting something cynical and cash-grabbing, another studio swinging at a beloved property and missing the point entirely. What I got instead was something that felt like it had been made by people who actually care about Middle-earth, who understand the grim, mythic weight of Tolkien's world and wanted to honour it rather than flatten it. The film tells the origin story of Helm's Deep and the kingdom of Rohan, drawing on the appendices rather than the main text, and it does so with a seriousness of purpose that took me completely by surprise.
I'll say it plainly: this captures the spirit of Tolkien better than Peter Jackson's broader filmmaking legacy suggested he was still capable of, at least by the time of The Hobbit trilogy. Where those films bloated and stumbled, War of the Rohirrim is lean and purposeful, carrying genuine mythic heft. It feels earned.
Visually, it's a proper triumph. The artwork brings the windswept plains of the Riddermark to life with a style that feels both fresh and deeply respectful of what came before. If you grew up loving the grand, painterly sweep of Studio Ghibli, particularly something like Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind or Princess Mononoke, I think you'd find a lot to love here. The battle sequences are visceral and dynamic, each clash of swords carrying real weight, and the quieter moments are just as beautifully rendered. There's a ruggedness to the aesthetic that suits the horse-lord world perfectly.
The voice work is excellent across the board, pitched just right to sit alongside the tone of the live-action films without feeling like a cheap imitation of them. And the cameos, including Dominic Monaghan, Billy Boyd, Miranda Otto and the irreplaceable Christopher Lee, add a genuinely moving nostalgic dimension. Hearing those voices again in Middle-earth, even briefly, is a proper treat.
The score deserves its own paragraph. It takes Howard Shore's foundational compositions and builds on them with sweeping, beautifully adapted pieces that enhance every scene, whether it's the thunder of a cavalry charge or a quiet, melancholic moment of grief. It's the kind of soundtrack you want to sit with long after the film ends, and the fact that it's picked up awards recognition comes as no surprise whatsoever.
If I'm being honest about any reservations, they're minor. There are moments where the pacing asks a lot of your patience, and a couple of dramatic beats that land slightly softer than they should. But these are small grumbles set against a much bigger picture of genuine achievement.
Four stars.
The War of the Rohirrim deserved so much better than the reception it got. It proves there's still a real appetite for traditionally crafted, beautifully animated high fantasy, delivered with both intimacy and epic scope. Any fan of Tolkien or Japanese animation owes it to themselves to seek this one out. Don't let the box office numbers put you off. They got it wrong.
Rating: ★★★★ | Year: 2024 | Watched: 2026-07-06
Where to watch
Watch in the UK
Stream: HBO Max Amazon Channel · Now TV Cinema · HBO Max
Rent: Google Play Movies · YouTube
Buy: Apple TV Store · Rakuten TV · Amazon Video · Google Play Movies
Physical: Amazon UK · Zavvi
Watch in the US
Stream: HBO Max Amazon Channel · HBO Max
Rent: Amazon Video · Apple TV Store · Google Play Movies · YouTube
Buy: Amazon Video · Apple TV Store · Google Play Movies · YouTube
Physical: Amazon US
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