Ahead of The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim's release in theaters this weekend, the review embargo has just lifted for this long-awaited big screen return to Middle-earth. In the movie, we'll return to Middle-earth for a story revealing the fate of the House of Helm Hammerhand, the legendary King of Rohan.
As with any sort set in the iconic world previously brought to life in The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (based on the revered books by J.R.R. Tolkien), expectations are high.
With Peter Jackson returning as producer and Kamiyama (Blade Runner: Black Lotus) in the director's chair, the movie has generated a lot of excitement among fans of Middle-earth but the first wave of reviews may be described best as "mid."
While they're by no means negative, this doesn't sound like essential viewing for anyone who isn't a hardcore fan of the franchise.
As usual, we'll start with the trades. Variety says the movie "[is] hardly sufficient to justify a theatrical release...but [it] does bridge the gap between 'The Hobbit' and Jackson’s forthcoming 'The Hunt for Gollum.'" The Hollywood Reporter adds, "Those not familiar with Tolkien minutiae will still be able to enjoy The War of the Rohirrim on its own visually grand, mythic storytelling terms, even if it does eventually seem overlong at 134 minutes."
The Wrap also had little in the way of praise. "'The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim' plays like a straight-to-video rush job that got a little out of hand, and now it has to play to a theatrical crowd that’s unlikely to forgive its many haphazard flaws. It’s hard to get mad at this movie, but it’s oh so easy to be disappointed."
Empire concludes its 3* verdict with, "This is something of an unexpected journey for Middle-earth on screen. It never scrapes the heights of Jackson’s trilogy — few do — but amid a messy meeting of worlds, there are stirring moments." Total Film gives it half a star less than that; "What could have been an exciting experiment in telling a new tale in a beloved universe in a very different way feels heavily compromised," the site explains.
IGN goes with 6/10: "The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim is a fascinating idea with a lackluster execution, more interesting as a concept than an actual retelling of one of Middle-earth’s famous legends."
We get the same score from Slash Film in a review that states, "For a story as chock-full of tragedy, betrayal, and glorious battle scenes as this one is, however, far too much of the material comes across like diet 'The Lord of the Rings.'"
TheOneRing.net, meanwhile, found more to enjoy. "I rate this a solid 8.5 out of 10 with focused praise on use of color, framing of compositions, great pacing, clarity of character motivations, lovely music, and the overall serious handling of Tolkien’s tragic tale with emotional verisimilitude," the fan site concludes.
ComingSoon.net calls The War of the Rohirrim "beautiful but predictable" and IndieWire awards it a C- with a brutal, "Needless to say, it makes all too much sense that Héra’s legend has been forgotten by the time that Aragorn and his friends arrive in her father’s kingdom some two centuries later."
With the first wave of reviews counted, we have an early Rotten Tomatoes score. As we write this, the movie sits at a so-so - but still "Fresh" - 61% on the review aggregator.
The War of the Rohirrim will go head-to-head with Kraven the Hunter this weekend, though both movies aren't expected to fare particularly well against holdovers Wicked and Moana 2.