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Review

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

Director

Peter Jackson

Year

2003

Rating

Reviewed by

Jorge Castillo a.k.a. Mithrandir

Review date

Tuesday, December 30, 2003

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is a hard film to review, at least on my part, since it holds the title of Best Movie Ever in my collection. This is the last installment (sadly) of the franchise that started in 2001 with The Fellowship of the Ring and continued with The Two Towers in 2002.

The movie begins with the sad story of Smeagol (Andy Serkis), back before he was turned into Gollum. The beauty of this opening scene is nothing short of amazing, with Jackson playing close attention to the details described by Tolkien in his masterpiece. After Gollum obtains the Ring of Power, we begin to see his transformation from a regular hobbit-like creature, into the sad, crippled monster we see in the movies.

The story continues, as in the transition from The Fellowship of the Rings to The Two Towers, right where the last one left off: Frodo, Sam and Gollum moving one step closer to Mordor every time, while Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli and Gandalf await for the final stroke of the enemy in Endoras.

The stories from the last movie, the ones that were unsolved in The Two Towers, are dealt with in this movie. Arwen's love for Aragorn, Eowyn's impossible love for the same character, the unraveling of Gimli’s and Legolas’ friendship, and Gandalf's transformation into the greatest Istari to ever have graced Middle Earth.

Peter Jackson is the director of this movie (as well as the other two) and words fail to describe what this man has accomplished with these movies. Along with Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens, Peter created a visual masterpiece, a feast to the eyes which, at the same time, generated such an interest in the books of J.R.R. Tolkien that many, many people began reading them for the first time, while others who had read the books already (my case) appreciated them even more: this is not done easily, but Peter pulled if off... better than anyone else who has ever attempted to.

The score for this movie fell, once again, in the hands of Howard Shore, and the melodies he created are nothing short of amazing. Every piece from the score compliments the scene it accompanies, with highlights from Billy Boyd and Viggo Mortensen, who each get to sing a little during two very crucial scenes in the movie. The wonderful "Into the west", sung by Annie Lennox, can be heard at the end, while the credits are rolling, and it is no wonder that it won the Academy Award for Best Original Song: it is simply that, the best song.

The cast could not have been better chosen. Viggo Mortensen shines as Aragorn, and Sir Ian McKellen, as Gandalf, is every bit as wonderful as you would expect him to be. No matter, there were two outstanding performances in this movie: Sean Astin as Samwise Gamgee, and Andy Serkis as Gollum. They should have both been nominated for an Academy Award, because they both very much deserved it.

I think everything that had to be said about this movie has been said, not only by me, but by anyone else. If you have not seen it, I urge you to. You will be satisfied from beginning to end. If you feel the need to know more about “The Lord of the Rings”, read the books by J.R.R. Tolkien: they are credited as the best science fiction books ever written and the trilogy, as a whole, is the second most-read book of all time, right after the Bible. Do you need any more reasons to immerse yourself in this wonderful world?

"Certainty of death... small chance of success... what are we waiting for?"

Note: As with the past two movies, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King will also have a Special Extended Edition released. This edition will go on sale on December 14th, 2004, and will include over 50 minutes of extra footage. As a proud owner of the past two editions, I also recommend to buy this edition, as well as the other two if you haven't done so. It is very much worth it and it brings the movies to a whole different level.

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Other reviews of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003): Groucho, Morris

Review

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

Director

Peter Jackson

Year

2003

Rating

Reviewed by

Gon Curiel a.k.a. Groucho

Review date

Monday, January 05, 2004

The fragmented Fellowship of the Ring is closer to accomplishing its mission as pressure pushes more than ever. Frodo (Elijah Wood), Sam (Sean Astin) and Gollum (Andy Serkis) are closer to Mount Doom, as the rest of the gang deals with war everywhere else. Everything will only get worse as long as The One Ring hasn’t been destroyed. What’s even worse, its carrier, Frodo, is getting more and more possessed by it. How will this end?

This sprawling adaptation of the third and final part of J.R.R. Tolkiens’ ‘The Lord of the Rings’ trilogy is, not surprisingly, longer, darker, more explosive, more focused on battles, and with something more of everything all around, than its two predecessors.

I’m glad to say I know a good movie when I see one. Even if I hate the subject matter, or the people involved, or anything else in it, I can be objective enough to recognize that it’s good. And vice versa for films that I should love, or even do love, but are bad. This movie is a good movie, there’s no denying that. But it’s also terribly overcooked, unnecessarily expanded to the point of boredom, and, even worse than the second installment, focused on the wrong things more often than not. I’m sure I’m saying something most people won’t agree with, but I see this trilogy, at least in a literary way, as a beautiful series of events where people of all races meet and work together and change together. The movies, especially the second and third ones, seem much more focused on action than adventure, and the battles are tiresome to say the least. Frodo and Sam’s adventures are the most exciting moments to me, but they seem to be the least frequent, and that’s not the case in the book. Luckily, there were other things here that were interesting enough, like the events of Merry (Dominic Monaghan) and Pippin (Billy Boyd), not to mention Eowyn (Miranda Otto), whose story surprised me. Gandalf (Ian McKellen), Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen), Legolas (Orlando Bloom) and Gimli (John Rhys-Davies) are all OK too. But whenever the movie’s rhythm is getting better, another larger-than-life battle is presented to us, and it all slows down, instead of getting better. After a while, even the ‘relevant’ scenes seem too long or overcooked. And the multiple finale sequence makes matters even worse, but my patience grew thin long before that.

What’s a pity for me is, I can see how good this movie is, and the problems that I just described really marred it for me. I can’t see myself watching this trilogy, and specifically this movie, again, and that’s a shame, because it has so many good things and worthwhile moments. I hate to say I’m glad the trilogy’s over, but it’s true. I’m glad for it, however, because of the legions of people who love it. That says something indeed.

To finish with a positive note, I’ll mention the flawless technical aspects and the beautiful epic work done by everybody involved. Howard Shore’s score accompanies the procedures perfectly, and the Middle-Earth environment is too real and haunting. I loved that. And the performances are truly incredible! So, now you know what I think…

“I am no man.”

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Other reviews of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003): Mithrandir, Morris

Review

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

Director

Peter Jackson

Year

2003

Rating

Reviewed by

José Ruiloba a.k.a. Morris

Review date

Wednesday, October 13, 2004

God, I don’t know how to describe my feelings after watching the third and final installment of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. I was amazed, in awe, absolutely perplexed. But I was also sad in a way I hadn’t felt before. When the words “The End” appeared on the screen I suddenly realized there would not be another Christmas with one of these movies anymore. The story was finally over. Everything had been said and done. That’s the sort of thing that only brilliant work provokes on people. And that’s exactly what Peter Jackson accomplished: work of miraculous proportions, arguably the best movie trilogy of all time.

Frodo (Elijah Wood) and Sam (Sean Astin) continue their way to Mordor lead by Gollum (Any Serkis), who threatens to leave them to their death in order to steal the Ring. Meanwhile Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen), Gandalf (Ian McKellen), Legolas (Orlando Bloom), Gimli (John Rhys-Davies), Merry (Dominic Monaghan), Pippin (Billy Boyd), Theoden (Bernard Hill), Faramir (David Wenham), Eowyn (Miranda Otto), Eomer (Karl Urban) and many more try to defend the last untouched city, Minas Tirith, from the pawns of Sauron.

How to put into words how magnificent this movie truly is? By this point it has become more than a movie, it’s become an event, it has burst out of the screen. Peter Jackson managed to deliver a movie of unimaginable proportions, not only because of its huge battles, but because of the feelings it arouses. Detailed attention was paid to the interactions between the characters, to those little precious moments of which the movie is filled. And then there’s the biggest battle that has ever been put on film, but that’s another matter altogether.

By this point the characters have become familiar to us, we care about them, we know what they’ve been through. Their journey has become ours as well. Watching how Frodo becomes the Ring’s prey little by little is heart-breaking. Watching how Sam has barely any trace of energy left in his body yet keeps doing what he thinks is right is awe-inspiring. Watching them both interact with the troubled soul that is Gollum is exhilarating. Every scene between any of these characters in the movie is pitch-perfect, classic material.

But then we reach the Battle of the Pelennor Fields, where so much is at stake, where so many important things happen, and you wonder how the hell was anyone able to bring such brilliance to the screen. It’s enormous, it’s exciting, it’s touching, it’s nerve-wracking, it’s just out of proportion, like nothing we have ever seen.

And that’s only the second act!

Without going into spoiler territory I have to say that during the last hour of this movie I was as nervous and thrilled as I hadn’t been in a long time by a movie. There’s suspense to spare. Oh, and I loved the various endings, which are essentially one extended finale in a long thread.

At the end this saga is about courage, heroism, friendship and the little things that make you a man (or whatever creature you are). It is about how the smallest of souls can do the greatest of things. There’s one scene at Minas Tirith at the end that resumes this idea. It brought tears to my eyes for a second. These movies are about how there’s always courage to fight for the things that matter. And it shows that there’s always hope in the horizon.

I do not have enough words of praise for Peter Jackson, who I now consider a genius, or the crew that made this, and the other movies possible. Howard Shore’s score in this third part resounds more than ever. The cinematography, costumes, set designs, everything is perfect. My heart pounds just to think back on the movie. It’s something else altogether.

And last but not least there are the actors, all of whom do terrific jobs. If there is one standout for me it is Sean Astin, who is unbelievably good as Sam. His character goes through a lot in this movie and ultimately becomes larger-than-life, but it is Sean who brings him that humanity, that dignity, that goodness, that special something that will be always remembered come the years to pass.

Ultimately I feel grateful to everyone involved in these movies. Thank you… from the bottom of my heart.

“All you have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to you.”

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Other reviews of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003): Mithrandir, Groucho