December 18, 2024 – The artwork of this animated action drama is obviously influenced by anime, the music is obviously based on Howard Shore's award-winning Rings score and Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh's influences are all over this movie, which is surprisingly mediocre.

In addition to Jackson and Walsh (both executive producers) there are some familiar voices on the soundtrack, including Miranda Otto, Billy Boyd and Dominic Monaghan, who all appeared in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Even the familiar voice of the late Christopher Lee returns from the dead to voice Saruman the White again.

The locations of Edoras and Helm's Deep look just as they did in the Lord of the Rings movies. There is even another Rohirrim charge down that impossibly steep ravine, just as there was in Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. This movie is directed by Kenji Kamiyama, who has a Japanese anime background, and this shows up in the way the characters look, big eyes and all.

This movie seems like a clone of the Lord of the Rings movies, but it lacks the drama and narrative drive of the movies in that great trilogy. The story is workmanlike, but not compelling.

One of the horse lords of Rohan, Freca, seeks to replace King Helm with his son Wulf. He seeks to do this by arranging for his son, Wulf to marry the king's daughter, Héra. Helm sees through the scheme and Héra refuses Wulf's hand anyway. This leads to a fight. As a result, Wulf becomes Helm's bitter enemy. He disappears from the kingdom for years, only to return with an army, seeking vengeance on Helm Hammerhand. He plans to violently replace Helm as the king of Rohan.

As with most wars, it is a disaster for both sides. Many people die and there is much property destruction. With Edoras in flames, a badly wounded Helm, and what is left of his army, along with Rohan's people flee to their mountain stronghold, facing a long winter and starvation.

Wulf is not satisfied with this victory, and has his army work on a siege tower. He wants to kill Helm, Héra and anyone else who he fears is a threat to his rule. Helm is bitter because of his losses. He tells Héra that she must assume leadership of Rohan.

Héra has to find a way to save her people and stop Wulf's madness. The problem with this story is that the battle at this point is a stalemate for an extended period, and other than a lot of hand-wringing, complaining and regrets, there is a lack of action.

It is pretty obvious where Wulf got all that wood for his siege tower, from nearby Fangorn Forest, and that would anger the Ents, who would, in turn, be a very powerful ally for Helm and Héra, but apparently, the writers didn't think of that, or rejected the idea. Their solution to the battle is quite a bit more complicated and improbable, requiring ice picks, crampons, advanced mountaineering skills, and a lot of luck.

This may be a coincidence, but there are some similarities between this story and certain political events now unfolding. There are similarities between Helm and Joe Biden, between Héra and Kamala Harris and between Donald Trump and Wulf. That puts a whole new spin on the story, doesn't it? This movie rates a C.

Click here for links to places to buy or rent this movie in digital formats, or to buy the soundtrack, posters, books, even used videos, games, electronics and lots of other stuff (no extra charges apply). I suggest you shop at least two of these places before buying anything. Prices seem to vary continuously. For more information on this film, click on this link to The Internet Movie Database. Type in the name of the movie in the search box and press enter. You will be able to find background information on the film, the actors, and links to much more information.

Copyright © 2024 Robert Roten. All rights reserved.
Reproduced with the permission of the copyright holder.

Robert Roten can be reached via e-mail at