This animated prequel to JRR Tolkien’s fantasy novel “The Lord of the Rings” attempts to explore the possible life of an unnamed daughter of Helm Hammerhand and gives us brief glimpses younger versions of protagonists of “The Lord of the Rings”: Saruman the White and Gandalf. But none of the characters are interesting enough to make this anything more than an epic fail.

According to Tolkien, the Kingdom of Rohan was founded by Eorl the Young and his line died out with the death of Helm Hammerhand. Helm’s sons had pre-deceased him.

The story by Jeffrey Addiss, Will Matthews and Philippa Boyens tries to add flesh and fantasy folklorish furnishings to create a world 183 years before the events of the War of the Ring. Tolkien’s epic tale is androcentric and this scripting seems determined to develop a female narrative. Narrated by Éowyn (voiced by Miranda Otto), this tales gives name to the unnamed daughter: Héra (Gaia Wise). Burdened by a name that fans of the TV series “Hercules” and Greek mythology, this Héra wants to be a shield maiden, but her hand is sought after by her childhood friend, Wulf. Although she is a lord’s daughter, she doesn’t seem to understand the politics of marriage and is uninterested in marriage. You might think that Héra doesn’t want to be burdened with the rules of ruling or being ruled by a husband, but it seems that her brothers, Hama (Yazdan Qafouri) and Haleth (Benjamin Wainwright ), are also not married. In a time without doctors, hospitals and policing, that seems stupid.

Wulf’s father, Dunlending lord Freca (Shaun Dooley), comes to visit King Helm (Brian Cox) and pressures King Helm to marry his daughter to his son, Wulf. Helm and Freca fight and Helm unintentionally kills Freca with a single blow which earns him the moniker “Hammerhand,” as well as the enmity of Wulf.

Several years later, Héra is kidnapped by one of Freca’s former generals and finds herself at Isengard which is now under the rule of Wulf, High Lord of the Dunlendings. Héra is rescued but Wulf invades Rohan. Héra’s brothers are killed and seem to have neither wives nor children. Where’s the imperative to produce an heir and a few to spare?

Yet by this time, my husband, a fan of Peter Jackson’s “Lord of the Rings” was cheering for the death of the good guys (Hama and Haleth). As a villain, the mortal Wulf is hindered by his name and his lack of  depth. Why Héra? Why does he have to be scarred? Does this remind me of the Lion King? It didn’t until I saw “Mufasa: The Lion King.” Turned down by their first love, both Scar and Wulf turn bad to the bone. Are women/girls viewing these things supposed to learn some kind of lesson?

There’s no real character development for Wulf. Héra also doesn’t seem to feel the deaths of her brothers or be haunted with guilt. I kept thinking, “What is she wearing?” Her clothing at times makes no sense, particularly in comparison to the men or other women. In a world of warring nations that has orcs and magic, some of the actions are likewise questionable.

Director Kenji Kamiyama can’t make us care about these characters. The script’s only gems are dull: We recognize the names Éowyn, Saruman and Gandalf and the meaning of the rings. The animation itself varies from good to fair, but nothing is outstanding or worth the 134 minutes. The film is tediously portentous.My husband cheered when one of the good guys died, but there was still more to slog through and the ending didn’t come soon enough.

Produced by New Line Cinema and Warner Bros. Animation, “The Lord of the Rings; The War of the Rohirrim” was released in the US on 13 December 2024.