THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING (2003)
New Line

By Désirée I. Guzzetta

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (henceforth ROTK) deserves every superlative I can muster. A triumph. A masterpiece. Awe-inspiring. Best movie of the year. Perhaps the pre-eminent filmic achievement of our time, and certainly one of the most amazing, fulfilling concluding chapters of a trilogy I've ever seen.

Okay, enough with the (very deserved) hyperbole. The story picks up right where the second installment, The Two Towers, left off, with Isengard flooded and Frodo (Elijah Wood), Sam (Sean Astin) and Gollum (voice of Andy Serkis, who also appears as Smeagol in a flashback) inching closer to Mordor, where Sauron's evil rules.

This time out, Sauron's massive army is descending upon Minas Tirith for a final climactic battle which will decide the fate of Middle-earth forever, all dependent on Frodo being able to complete his dangerous mission of destroying the Ring. Will Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen, appropriately kingly) muster enough counterforces to repel Sauron's attack and save the capital of Gondor and mankind itself AND take his rightful place as the King? Will Frodo succeed in destroying the Ring and eliminating Sauron once and for all? Those of you who've read the book already know, and the rest can probably guess, but you won't read those spoilers here.

What I will reveal is how director Peter Jackson infuses the epic scale of the film with humanity, always anchoring us in the characters and their stories and not letting the special effects run amok. One particularly haunting scene involves Faramir (David Wenham) leading a charge against the Orcs and Uruk-hai juxtaposed with Pippin (Billy Boyd) singing an elegiac song which highlights the suicidal nature of Faramir's task. It's especially effective and jerked more than a few tears out of my cynical critical eyes.

Not that the numerous special effects aren't spectacular, of course. The CGI Gollum continues to amaze with how real he seems (thanks in part to Serkis' brilliant voice acting). Also, the giant spider, Shelob, is the best movie spider ever; her natural movements and general fearsomeness scared the [brown word] out of me both times I saw the film.

I can't go into what parts of ROTK deviate from the book or what was left out entirely because my memory of the novel isn't fresh--I'll leave the nit-picking to my fellow LC. That said, what's onscreen is nearly perfect in regards to pacing, characterization, plot, and impact. Never once did I get restless, as I did a couple of times during the more human portions of The Two Towers, and when it was all over, I cried the bittersweet tears of one whose every high expectation was met but who no longer had another installment to await and be excited about. Yes, all good things do come to an end, and this end was as fabulous as I could ever have hoped.

The performances of all the actors are a wonder to behold as well. Astin is a revelation as Samwise Gamgee and if he doesn't get at least an Oscar nomination, I'm boycotting the Oscars for the rest of my life. Sure, he will probably be overshadowed by Ian McKellen's grand Gandalf, but he deserves to be recognized because his steadfast hobbit is the true heart of the film, the little creature with greater stores of strength and feeling than even the much more self-assured Legolas (Orlando Bloom), who isn't a slouch in the heroics department himself. Miranda Otto as the fiery, independent Eowyn deserves Oscar recognition as well.

I'm happy to say that my faith in Jackson never wavered; actually, it's never wavered since I first discovered his stand-out horror films back in the day. I also liked how ROTK's Army of the Dead (not to be confused with the Army of Darkness) looked a lot like the dead characters in his The Frighteners. I always knew that ghostly special effect would come in handy one day!

A political aside: There are those who have complained that the great financial success of ROTK indicates that Americans prefer fantasy, a place where Good and Evil are clearly demarcated and where we know Good will win out, to reality, a place where Good and Evil are a lot more muddled and who knows which will triumph in the end. What poppycock! It seems to me that the box office intake of ROTK indicates that people all over the world--for ROTK has been released worldwide, not just here--prefer good films, period, and I don't see anything wrong with that.

Bottom line: Go see ROTK. Repeatedly, if possible, because it's worth every minute and dollar spent. Hang out for the credits if you want to see some nice drawings of the characters and places of Middle-earth, too.

Official LOTR Site

New Line
Director: Peter Jackson
Screenwriters: Frances Walsh, Philippa Boyens, and Peter Jackson; based on the novel by J. R. R. Tolkien
Starring: Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn), Elijah Wood (Frodo Baggins), Ian McKellen (Gandalf the Wizard), Liv Tyler (Arwen), Sean Astin (Samwise Gamgee), Hugo Weaving (Elrond), Orlando Bloom (Legolas), John Rhys-Davies (Gimli), Miranda Otto (Eowyn), Dominic Monaghan (Merry), Billy Boyd (Pippin), Andy Serkis (Gollum/Smeagol), David Wenham (Faramir)
Running Time: 3 hours, 21 minutes
Rated: PG-13

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