The Plot:
Sam And Frodo are becoming ever closer to the fires of Mount Doom in their quest to destroy the ring, but what does Gollum have in store for them? Frodo must rely on Sam to lead him through but the ring has a will of it’s own, a power that makes Frodo ever suspicious of his companions. The city of Minas Tirith will be attacked by Sauron’s armies. But Gondor’s steward has grown weary and mad after the death of his son Boromir. Gandalf himself must take charge of defending the city while waiting for aid. The only hope that mankind has is that Aragorn will be able to convince the riders of Rohan and others to join him in helping the city and proving his worth in becoming the King. Will Aragorn make it in time to save the city, or will the efforts of Gandalf the White be in vain. Will Frodo and Sam make it to the fires of Mount Doom or will the ring of power be retaken by Sauron. What will become of Middle Earth.
My Thoughts: (Reviewed by K-Billy)
In the third chapter of the Lord Of The Rings trilogy we come to the end of the journey. Frodo and Sam continue on their quest to destroy the ring of power, all the while having to trust their treacherous guide Gollum who cares only for the ring. Gandalf the white fights to save the city of Minas Tirith from the armies of Sauron as the Steward Denethor descends into madness. And Aragorn, rightful heir to the throne of Gondor travels the path towards accepting his birth right and coming to the throne. In the Return of The King.
Victory never tasted so sweet. With the final film of the trilogy now released it can assuredly be said that the Lord Of The Rings stands to be the greatest movie trilogy of all time. It stands unmatched by any other trio of films including Star Wars, the Godfather, and The Matrix where the quality of all three films was not always equal. As stated numerous times the Lord Of The Rings greatly benefits from being a complete story divided into three parts, rather then a single film where further storylines were added upon the success of the original. With the Return Of The King, Jackson’s vision is complete and while the films deviate from the books at times the spirit of the story remains the same.
Credit the screen writers for keeping this spirit alive. Jackson, his wife, and Phllipa Boyens have created quite a wonderful screenplay from a book that would seem almost impossible to adapt considering it’s length. The third film has a bit of a different feel to it however because it seems that for the most part there’s a bit less dialogue because your mind tends to get carried away in the sea of special effects and action. And my god is there an abundance of action in this film. Unmatched in my opinion by any other. Jackson himself certainly seems proud of the efforts that his WETA digital team have put forth. Extremely evident in the numerous sweeping landscape shots that beautifully bring into scope the digital environments in which much of this movie takes place. Especially when the army of Mordor is on Minas Tirith’s doorstep. Sweeping shots here of the mass that has the city surrounded are quite stunning. The battles themselves can seem overwhelming at times. The sheer magnitude of the siege of Minas Tirith easily dwarfs the fight for Helms Deep, but in a way you lose the intimacy of the smaller siege. As stated above it can be quite overwhelming with catapults flying, Oliphants charging, Trolls flinging men left and right and quite possibly one of the single greatest film moments ever, when the Riders Of Rohan flank the army of Mordor in a scene that cannot be described. Most of the time all of this works but you can definitely become battle weary at some points in the film, but it in no way detracts from anything as far as the overall experience goes. And as the visuals themselves go they are quite amazing. There really isn’t much at all in this film that looks fake or unrealistic. Of course you know which is real and which isn’t simply because of the impossibility of filming such scenes but it’s not evident through the visuals which are consistently the best in any film I’ve ever seen.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, these three films probably have the best ensemble cast ever. Of course there are standout performances but on a whole everyone is equal in consistent excellence. It’s really quite a treat considering that most of the actors were not all that famous before the release of these films. The standout performance in this film for me was John Noble as Denethor he was so delightfully evil in such a deranged way and really made the most out of all of his bizarre scenes. Viggo Mortenson as Aragorn is once again great but doesn’t have as many lines as in the other films. And sadly, Legolas and Gimli barely have any. Which brings me to one of my only grief’s with this film and partially the Two Towers as well. I really thought that Gimli’s descent into the comic relief character was somewhat depressing especially when so many of his one liners come during serious moments that don’t really need to be undermined by humor, such as entering the Lair of The Dead, or The Battle of Pelennor Fields. This bothered me throughout the trilogy really. Also I kind of prefer Gandalf the Gray over the new fighting machine Gandalf the White. While Ian McKellan happens to do a splendid job as the wise wizard throughout the whole series I marginally preferred his original incarnation. If you’re looking for the strongest performances in the film though I’d have to say that honor belongs to Elijah Wood and Sean Astin. This must have been quite an experience making this film because every one of their scenes is quite emotional and their performances in dealing with how the ring destroys Frodo are so convincing that you find yourself emotionally drained as well.
The film is quite beautifully shot, with Jackson using a lot of the same techniques he used in the other two films such as diagonal angles, and lots of slow motion for dramatic effect. And as I mentioned the large scale landscape shots. The third film has a different look to it however, the close ups of the characters faces during conversations seem more extreme or more vibrantly lighted. And each film has a bit of a different feel due to three different editors working on all three. As with the other two the music in this movie is a standout. Howard Shore has composed quite a score for this trilogy that is unmatched by any other film. The music accentuates the mood and draws you into the story in an extremely satisfying way.
It’s sad to see it end, but in a way it’s
also satisfying to know that this film confidently shows that this is the greatest
movie trilogy of all time. This trilogy brings epic filmmaking to a new level
and secures Jackson as one of the most sought after directors in Hollywood.
The visuals are unbelievable and the acting by the ensemble of performers is
some of the best I’ve seen. New Line sure took a gamble when they decided
to finance the three films at a budget of over 300 million but my god did it
ever pay off. With a worldwide gross of over 1.2 billion, Return Of The King
adds the already staggering numbers of the first two films for a total gross
of around 2.9 billion worldwide for the trilogy. As to which of the three I
liked the best it’s hard to say. I believe I prefer the Fellowship Of
The Ring overall due to it’s intimacy and because it’s easy to get
swept away in the visuals of the Two Towers and Return Of The King, but any
favoritism is extremely slight for these films are all unbelievable. The best
picture of 2003 is the final installment of the best trilogy of all time. The
Lord Of The Rings is unforgettable.
Starring: Viggo Mortenson, Elijah Wood, Sam Astin, Ian McKellan, Dominic Monaghan, Orlando Bloom, Billy Boyd, and John Rhys-Davies
Directed by Peter Jackson
Rated PG-13