Rating: 9/10
Review date: December 20, 2003
The stakes are higher in the final installment of the Lord of the Rings trilogy which sees Frodo, Sam and Gollum in Mordor, tantalizingly close to the cracks of Mount Doom. Will Frodo find the strength to accomplish the heavy task that he needs to do?
Meanwhile, Sauron�s army is getting stronger and is poised to attack Minas Tirith, the city of kings located in Gondor. Gandalf and the remaining members of the fellowship rally a new alliance to prepare for the inevitable battle that lies ahead�
It is finally here! After countless times of viewing the trailer, I can�t believe I�m actually sitting inside the theater, waiting for the movie to start. Three hours and twenty-one minutes soon passed and the movie is over. Let�s get on with the review!
Unlike the Two Towers which started with an awesome scene featuring Gandalf battling the Balrog, Return of the King chooses a subtler opening scene yet disturbing and it does set the mood for things to come later in the movie.
Just as Peter Jackson had promised, Return of the King is the most emotionally charged installment of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. It covers a wide range of themes such as love, unity, brotherhood, sacrifice, loyalty, friendship, courage and determination.
There are a few instances where I could feel my eyes getting wet; we have grown to know these characters deeply in the past two movies and the time has finally come to part with them since the end of the journey is very near.
The musical score is still as good as before and there was a scene where Pippin is singing that really shines. It fits so seamlessly with the images playing at the time and is definitely one of the saddest moments in the movie.
It seems as if the action meter has been cranked up a few notches too. I am sure everybody must have seen glimpses of the Battle of Pelennor Fields in the trailer but nothing prepares me for the actual scene. It was laden with so many participants from your ordinary human combatants and orcs to eagles, oliphaunts, trolls and of course, Nazguls (aka Ringwraiths) riding on Fell beasts.
The battle scenes are simply spectacular whereby we also get to see the assault on Mordor�s Black Gate as well as the siege of Minas Tirith with plenty of trebuchets hurling rocks all over the place. Also not to be forgotten is the scene with Shelob, the giant spider where Sam actually get to show some of his fighting abilities.
As with the previous two movies, what make the story tick are the characters and since this is the last time we will ever see them, I will discuss it exhaustively.
I know this has been mentioned many times by others but I feel the need to stress it again. It is a shame to leave Saruman (Christopher Lee) out in the final movie; I believe he deserves a closure or elaboration of his fate but no, what we get is nothing. Now it has been announced that there will be a seven minutes sequence for this purpose which will be included in the Extended Edition DVD but I would have prefer it in the theatrical version.
As for our dear old wizard, Gandalf (Ian McKellen), not only he takes a more active role this time around, he actually uses his staff quite often. What is a wizard without his staff after all?
Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen) still looks as serious as ever although he finally accepted his fate as the heir of Isildur, thus the title of the movie. His charisma is still oozing out very strongly in whatever frame he is in especially when he delivers a short speech to the troops. Gimli (John Rhys-Davies) continues pouting one-liners just like in Two Towers but there�s nothing else to mention about him.
Legolas (Orlando Bloom) is featured more prominently as well. There was a scene where he single-handedly brings down an oliphaunt along with its riders. It is definitely one of the most entertaining scenes in the movie and a treat for the ladies too.
Frodo (Elijah Wood) still has that mesmerizing look with his blue eyes while Gollum (Andy Serkis) constantly talks to himself about the �precious� ring. Sam (Sean Astin) is the real star here, conveying a wide range of emotions and shedding really convincing tears at some point. He deserved some praises for his acting skills.
Merry (Dominic Monaghan) and Pippin (Billy Boyd) were also given more screen time this time around although there is nothing memorable about their roles although I find them less annoying than before.
And that wraps up the primary characters. Now I shall elaborate on the supporting characters who is featured less in the movie.
The most memorable one here is obviously Eowyn (Miranda Otto) who faces the Witch King and his Fell beast by herself. It is a short but powerful action scene that will inspire the female audience (well, maybe not). But I do know that she looks cool in that armor. She also had some touching moments that involve her uncle, King Theoden of Rohan (Bernard Hill). Aside from this scene, Theoden doesn�t do much except trying to look like king and adequately succeeding at that.
Eomer (Karl Urban) has nothing much to say although he still retains that angry face he�s been having ever since he was first shown in Two Towers. Pity they didn�t show him kicking major orcs� ass; I think that would have been great with his constantly pissed-off expression.
Faramir (David Wenham) has his own share of touching moment as well with a great portrayal of what he is feeling at the time. The steward of Gondor, Lord Denethor (John Noble) did his part convincingly although he seems slightly over-the-top to me.
Arwen (Liv Tyler) had so little screen time (not that it matter anyway). She does have that gazing look which constitutes most of her acting in the movie (aside from looking pale). Lady Galadriel (Cate Blanchett) is back in a short cameo role to encourage the ring-bearer towards the end. Elrond (Hugo Weaving) is still the wise elf he was in the Fellowship of the Ring, wanting the best for his daughter, Arwen.
I�ve heard many complaints about the multi-endings which apparently dragged a bit too long according to some but I disagree. For something as epic as the Lord of the Rings (also considering that it�s a trilogy), anything less than a multi-endings would have been unfair, provided it does bring a sense of closure to the series (which it does in this case).
This reminds of the Matrix Revolutions whose ending is rather disappointing since it is very abrupt and no further elaboration was given thus the audience remain unsatisfied. Unlike the Matrix trilogy however, the Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King wraps up any remaining loose ends and it ends with a bang instead of seemingly dissipating into thin air (again, I�m referring to Matrix Revolutions).
This movie needs to be nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Cinematography and whole bunch of other Bests u can think of because� it is just that good. Trust me. As I have said in my review of the previous two movies, I�m not a fan of Lord of the Rings (or anything to do with fantasy for that matter) but this movie will simply blow you away (that�s what it did to me) whether you like the previous movies or not.
Now that everything is over, I am hoping Peter Jackson will get around to shoot The Hobbit next although it will be years from now if it ever happens since he already announced that his next project is the remake of King Kong (1933).
Kudos to Peter Jackson for making what I think is the best movie of the 2003 and one of the best trilogies that I�ve ever seen.
One more thing though� I don�t know whether anyone share the same feelings with me but after watching Return of the King, I have this strong urge to wield a sword ala Aragorn and charge headlong into a rampaging horde of orcs. For Frodo!!!
*Trivia*
The back-to-back shoot of the trilogy lasted a record-equaling 274 days, in 16 months � the same amount of time taken for Apocalypse Now (1979).
Viggo Mortensen kept his sword with him at all times off set so that he could remain in character. He was questioned several times by police after reviewing his training sessions with the sword and being spotted by members of the public.
Cate Blanchett joked that she took the role of Galadriel because, "I've always wanted pointy ears".
Orlando Bloom (Legolas) did most of his own stunts and broke a rib in the process.
Dominic Monaghan (Merry) wore a fat suit made of foam. He drank three liters of water a day so he would not dehydrate.
Rumors in early 2003 have it that the first cut is six hours long because of the amount of material from Tolkien's original story that remains to be covered.
Additional scenes filmed in New Zealand in 2003, in much the same way as new sequences were shot for The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) prior to that film's release.
Viggo Mortensen estimates that, during the course of filming the entire trilogy and including all takes, he killed every stuntman on the production at least fifty times.
The ring used in the movies was given to Elijah Wood by Peter Jackson as a gift.
Memorable quote: �I see in your eyes the same fear that would take the heart of me. A day may come when the courage of Men fail� when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship, but it is not this day. This day, we fight!
-Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn-
(c) Martin Taidy