The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim
Warner Bros. | Release Date: December 13, 2024 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
54
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 32 Critic Reviews
Positive:
8
Mixed:
21
Negative:
3
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
83
Original-CinJohn KirkDec 10, 2024
All in all, this is probably the best production of the litany of Tolkien pre-Ring stories I’ve seen on the big screen and I’d count The Hobbit in that estimation. There is a part where it drags a little, and some moments that are campy (I blame those on the anime elements), but all in all, this is definitely something that I would recommend seeing on the big screen. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckDec 9, 2024
The battle sequences in particular are stunningly rendered, and will certainly benefit from being viewed on the largest possible premium and large-format screens. Read full review
80
PolygonSusana PoloDec 9, 2024
This attention to detail and reproduction is the movie’s greatest strength — The War of the Rohirrim looks and feels like Jackson’s LotR in the best way. 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. Read full review
75
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliDec 10, 2024
Although visually more impressive than even Bakshi’s blend of traditional animation and rotoscoping, The War of the Rohirrim suffers from some stylistic hiccups and the straightforward storyline limits the “epic-ness” of the production. Still, as a stand-alone adventure story, this is an engaging episode and a solid addition to a still-limited cinematic universe. Read full review
75
The PlaylistRodrigo PerezDec 9, 2024
Rohirrim is told with great fervent conviction, and no true ‘LOTR’ fan will complain about that. Read full review
75
Slant MagazineJustin ClarkDec 9, 2024
The film combines cutting-edge Japanese animation with the audiovisual language established by Peter Jackson’s original trilogy of films. Read full review
70
LooperReuben BaronDec 9, 2024
There was no chance of "The War of the Rohirrim" recapturing the magic of the Peter Jackson "Lord of the Rings" trilogy. But Hèra's defiance in the face of the despair her enemies want her to feel has something of the trilogy's inspirational quality. Read full review
70
Screen RantAlex HarrisonDec 9, 2024
It's a strong, engaging story that showcases some striking animation, and if I am to return to the wider world of Peter Jackson's Middle-earth, this seems to me an ideal way to go about it. Read full review
60
Film ThreatAlex SavelievJan 6, 2025
Too much thought has been put into this one to write it off as a mere, well, write-off. But it’s also too slap-dash to be labeled a classic, nowhere near on par with Peter Jackson’s original trilogy. A curiosity then, worth checking out, especially for the devoted. Read full review
60
The Irish TimesDonald ClarkeDec 11, 2024
There is nothing here to win over those habitually ill disposed to sword and sorcery, but anybody half on board should have a decent time. It is certainly a heck of a lot better than the over-extended Hobbit trilogy. Read full review
60
Little White LiesDavid JenkinsDec 10, 2024
It’s predictably rousing, and Tolkien heads will probably enjoy many of the callbacks to the original trilogy, but as a film in its own right, it’s all a little overblown and unnecessary. Read full review
60
EmpireJohn NugentDec 9, 2024
It never scrapes the heights of Jackson’s trilogy — few do — but amid a messy meeting of worlds, there are stirring moments. Read full review
60
IGNEmma StefanskyDec 9, 2024
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. Read full review
60
SlashfilmJeremy MathaiDec 9, 2024
As much as The War of the Rohirrim tries its best to live up to the lofty standards set by the original movies, it only really shines when it manages to forget that it's a franchise movie at all. Read full review
60
VarietyPeter DebrugeDec 9, 2024
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. Read full review
60
ColliderAidan KelleyDec 9, 2024
War of the Rohirrim's storytelling woes might mean this isn't the epic return to Middle-earth that many Lord of the Rings fans may have been hoping for, but that's not to say the film's not without merit. Read full review
58
The A.V. ClubMatt SchimkowitzDec 12, 2024
The Lord Of The Rings: The War Of The Rohirrim is a slight Middle-earth adventure that’s fleet-footed but inconsequential. Read full review
55
The Daily BeastNick SchagerDec 13, 2024
Only receiving a multiplex release because Warner Bros had to do so in order to maintain the franchise’s theatrical rights, it’s inconsequential and hackneyed to the point of being forgettable. Read full review
55
TheWrapWilliam BibbianiDec 9, 2024
The fourth best animated Lord of the Rings feature, which sounds pretty good until you remember there are only four of them. Read full review
50
ObserverDylan RothDec 13, 2024
The Lord of the Rings: War of the Rohirrim is a safe bet, a mostly rote medieval fantasy tale that doesn’t have the widespread appeal of Peter Jackson’s trilogy but does keep the spirit of Tolkien’s words alive. Read full review
50
RogerEbert.comZachary LeeDec 13, 2024
A ghastly imitation of the franchise’s better films, a Ringwraith who possesses the frame and contours of something breathing but is ultimately hollow. Read full review
50
The Seattle TimesSoren AndersenDec 12, 2024
Betrayals, narrow escapes and much battle action ensue in the course of the picture’s paint-by-numbers plotting. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleZaki HasanDec 12, 2024
Tolkien’s fantasy world is always worth revisiting, and that makes “The War of the Rohirrim” worthy of watching even if it ultimately doesn’t amount to much once you look past the obvious visual panache. Read full review
50
The New York TimesMaya PhillipsDec 12, 2024
“The War of the Rohirrim” is worth a watch for the Tolkien faithful, especially as a fresh way to adapt the author’s work. Read full review
50
Screen DailyTim GriersonDec 10, 2024
The result is an old-fashioned action-adventure replete with battle scenes and hearty proclamations such as “We will paint the dawn red with the blood of our foes!” But the hand-drawn animation style has its limitations, and the film’s central figures are not as magnetic as before. Read full review
50
Total FilmJosh Slater-WilliamsDec 9, 2024
What could have been an exciting experiment in telling a new tale in a beloved universe in a very different way feels heavily compromised. Read full review
42
IndieWireDavid EhrlichDec 9, 2024
At least it aspires to mine a fresh experience from the all too familiar tedium of watching Hollywood pick a franchise dry, even if it ultimately falls well short of that goal. Read full review
40
We Got This CoveredCharlotte SimmonsDec 13, 2024
Well-equipped to succeed but ill-prepared to do so, 'The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim' drowns its potential in a far too hesitant narrative. Read full review
40
The GuardianRadheyan SimonpillaiDec 10, 2024
War of the Rohirrim is short on fiery floating eyeballs, wizards harnessing the power of the sun and ghost armies rising from caves – the kind of stuff you’d expect anime to go ham with, but perhaps not in director Kenji Kamiyama’s case. Read full review
38
Movie NationRoger MooreDec 16, 2024
"The War of the Rohirrim” is narrated to death because it has to be, otherwise it would be impossible to follow. And it’s dull and simplistic as narrative, more of a “comic book” take on Tolkien than an actual adaptation of anything Tolkien would have allowed to be published. Read full review
38
The Associated PressJake CoyleDec 10, 2024
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. Read full review
30
Wall Street JournalKyle SmithDec 12, 2024
Mr. Kamiyama has sent into battle nothing but armies of clichés. Read full review
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