By Warner Bros. Pictures is set to release its animated fantasy feature “The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim” on Friday and reviews for the title, which has had the input of Peter Jackson’s ‘Rings’ team, are now in.
With 29 reviews counted, the film sits at a 62% T-Meter score and an average rating of 6.2/10 on Rotten Tomatoes. The story is similar on Metacritic where it stands at 59/100.
The decidedly mixed reviews combined with box office prospects that look dire. The movie premiered in thirty markets late last week and managed to rustle up just $2 million by end of Sunday – the highest performing market being Spain at just $350,000.
Domestically the film is projected to take anywhere from $5-12 million in its debut weekend, with the numbers likely to err on the lower side of those estimates. Here’s a sampling of reviews:
“Because it’s so well-crafted, this anime feature becomes a stand-alone Middle-earth adventure that is refreshing in both its simplicity and beauty. Tolkien fans may not have been clamoring for this movie, but they will love it now that it’s here.” – Ryan Britt, Inverse
“It’s certainly more complete and satisfying than The Hobbit movies, but it can’t quite live up to its predecessors…It’s still awesome though and if you are a Lord of the Rings fan, you’ll enjoy it. Just go in with slightly tempered expectations.” – Germain Lussier, io9.com
“That this entry in a fantasy series is relatively light on fantastical elements doesn’t help to disguise the lack of flavor to this lethargically-paced story.” – Josh Slater-Williams, Total Film
“The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim eschews such resonant connections to our real world, instead favoring broad, unoriginal discussions of heroism and bravery.” – Cody Dericks, AwardsWatch
“It’s packed full of sword-swinging adventure, kingly drama and riveting monster mayhem. Unfortunately, it also reproduces the aspect of the Jackson movies that has aged most poorly.” – Susana Polo, Polygon
“The fourth best animated ‘Lord of the Rings’ feature, which sounds pretty good until you remember there are only four of them.” – William Bibbiani, TheWrap
“It may please the faithful, but it’s not quite epic enough to give less devoted viewers the same thrill they once felt from the live-action movies.” – Peter Debruge, Variety
“The War Of The Rohirrim may seem too adjacent a property to muster similar enthusiasm. Consequently, casual viewers may decide to skip this mediocre stopgap and wait for the live-action The Hunt For Gollum.” – Tim Grierson, Screen
Set 183 years before the events of Peter Jackson’s “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy, the film tells the fate of the House of Helm Hammerhand, the legendary King of Rohan.
A sudden attack by Wulf, a clever and ruthless Dunlending lord seeking vengeance for the death of his father, forces Helm and his people to make a daring last stand in the ancient stronghold of the Hornburg – a mighty fortress that will later come to be known as Helm’s Deep.
Finding herself in an increasingly desperate situation, Héra, the daughter of Helm, must summon the will to lead the resistance against a deadly enemy intent on their total destruction.
The voice cast of the film includes Brian Cox as Helm Hammerhand, Gaia Wise as Héra, Luke Pasqualino as Wulf, and Miranda Otto as Éowyn along with Lorraine Ashbourne, Benjamin Wainwright, Yazdan Qafouri, Laurence Ubong Williams, Michael Wildman, Shaun Dooley, Jude Akuwudike, Bilal Hasna, and Janine Duvitski.
The post “LOTR: War of the Rohirrim” Reviews Are In appeared first on Dark Horizons.
