Lord of the Rings: War of the Rohirrim makes oliphaunts scary again

I thought I had Olyphant mastered. you know, huge war elephant of Lord of the Ringsas exciting as Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy? Jackson’s work brings these creatures to life with terrifying power and makes them the key to one of the trilogy’s most controversial action moments.

I thought I had seen everything there was to know about those giant, fanged beasts. Another Olyphant in the fight? snort. but The Lord of the Rings: The Battle of the Rohirrim Turns out I was wrong. A new animated film directed by Kenji Kamiyama (Blade Runner: Black Lotus), upping the fear factor of classic monsters by lowering the stakes.

The first time we saw Olyphant was a brief glimpse in Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. Sam and Frodo see a couple in the distance with Haradrim ArmySam reacted in surprise. In Tolkien’s own lore, Olyphant was a mythical creature from the Hobbit nursery rhymes, and scenes from the book are set upon in the film.

But those Olyphants were just a teaser for Jackson Return of the Kingwhere King Théoden and the cavalry of Rohan faced their charging line. Théoden’s people (well, mostly men) had just defeated the orc horde. But when these beasts arrived, armed with archers on their backs, their overwhelming presence soon put Rohan’s forces at a disadvantage.

Olyphant’s tusks are hung with barbed ropes that kill multiple horses with each swing, while their feet trample any unscathed horse. They take the enemy’s arrows without flinching until their legs and bellies look like pincushions, while the archers perch on huge saddles retaliate with deadly skill. Even if the archers of Rohan manage to kill a Haradrim soldier riding an Olyphant, their own warriors may be slain by the fallen corpse of their enemy.

It feels like it only takes half of Rohan’s army to fall. one Olyphant. Its massive corpse then becomes the backdrop for Théoden’s tragic fall and Éowyn. The iconic battle against the Witch King.

But then Legolas showed up Kill a person single-handedlyshot in the back of the head with a single three arrows.

I don’t hate this scene – I look back on it fondly. But it does diminish Olyphant’s threat. Legolas slides down a falling tree trunk like he’s putting together combos in a Tony Hawk game, and Gimli delivers the comedic sting of “That still only counts as one!” This is unmistakably Jackson The most iconic Olyphant moment in the trilogy, if only because Debate over whether his feat was cool or stupid Has always been loved by fans.

That’s why I came closer Rohirrim Wars Not expecting much from its oliphaunts: Return of the King sucked away their fear. but Rohirrim Wars Definitely won’t waste time putting it back.

[Ed. note: The rest of this piece contains a few early spoilers for The War of the Rohirrim.]

The first hint in the film that something is indeed rotten in Rohan comes when our hero Hera (Gaia Wise) takes two of her attendants – her middle-aged handmaiden Orwen and a royal squire named Lief. At least as far as we know, Olwen and Leaf are not skilled warriors, so Hera’s cousin and friend Frey Alav is just drifting along as the nominal personal protection of the Rohan princess who is already quite skilled in combat. .

That’s when they met Olyphant. but not only any oliphaunt: A rabid dog that foams at the mouth, has open wounds all over its body, and has no trainer in sight.

In shock, even my tired of ring Fan your brain Engaged. How will this confrontation end? There are no gravity-defying elven warriors around. No troops, no shelter, nowhere to escape. Two unsuspecting troopers attempt to protect two non-combatants Olyphant with rabies? I won’t spoil how it ends, but things get crazier from there.

Narratively speaking, the real purpose of this scene is to remind the audience that something is wrong with Rohan and to put Hera in a difficult situation. There are many ways a writing team can Rohirrim Wars This can be done without Olyphant. However, screenwriter Philippa Bones and her co-writers set the stage for Olyphant to later be in their usual martial arts mode again by making the film’s first big action scene an action/chase sequence for Olyphant. Show up ready.

HeyHera’s early encounter with the rogue Olyphant said, Think about how scary it would be if you didn’t have a wizard or elf around to help you deal with these things. When the beast appears as part of an attacking army, my heart The audience was primed to see them as a real threat to the Rohan cavalry and their isolated wooden stockades: towering, nearly indestructible siege weapons that could run as fast as horses.

but only one scene Rohirrim Wars — in the movie’s first action sequence! — Bones and her co-writers use Middle-earth’s biggest monsters to pull viewers into the smaller scope of the film. This is a lesson worth learning for many creators in our time. Leveraging Intellectual Property Licensing There are endless prequels and spin-offs. Even without wizards, rings, gods, and fancy magic, there is adventure in Middle-earth. Sometimes all that tension requires is a change of scale.

The Lord of the Rings: The Battle of the Rohirrim Now in theaters.