The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
4/4
Starring: Elijah Wood, Viggo Mortensen, Sean Astin, Andy Serkis, Ian McKellan, Dominic Monaghan, Billy Boyd, Orlando Bloom, John Rhys-Davies, John Noble
Rated PG-13 for Intense Epic Battle Sequences and Frightening Images
I haven't read J.R.R. Tolkien's works, but I'm positive that if he were alive to see Peter Jackson bring his celebrated fantasy saga to the screen, he would be overjoyed. Taken with the first two films, what Jackson has created is not only a cinematic translation of a complex story, but he has crafted an epic adventure worthy of the history books. It will be a long time before we see anything like it again (although the first part of "The Hobbit" is due out this December).
The War of the Ring is in its final throes; both sides are desperate to win, and the side of evil has the upper hand. Frodo (Wood) and Sam (Astin) are journeying deep into Mordor to destroy the Ring, but success is an unlikely prospect, and returning home is probably impossible. Aragorn (Mortensen) must rally the world of Men to come together to save the city of Gondor, which is first on Sauron's hit list. And Merry (Monaghan) and Pippin (Boyd) become more than mere tagalongs.
It could be argued that the final chapter is more Aragorn's story than Frodo's (in fact, the same could be argued about the whole story). Indeed, Aragorn's rise to become the King of Men is indeed the most compelling aspect of the film. Mortensen gets the character's determination, heart and self-doubt down pat to create a larger-than-life yet surprisingly human character. While it's debatable whether the actor deserved an Oscar nomination for his role (Mortensen's range is quite limited), it would have been at least understandable.
That's not to say that the other stories are boring. Frodo's disintegration is both disturbing and sad. Frodo is stronger than anyone, even himself, realizes, but the evil of The Ring is beginning to take a toll on him. He has become exhausted and weak, and the possibility of him giving in to the Ring's power is very real. Add to that fact the twisted wretch Gollum (Serkis) who is both helpful and a hindrance, and Frodo may very well fail.
Also of note are Merry and Pippin, the two hobbits who tagged along on the journey for fun. They too find their place in this battle, and realize that they are a part of something massively important. They begin to understand that there are things that are bigger than themselves and there are things worth dying for.
Finally, there is Gollum, the former hobbit who has become a truly bizarre creature because of the power of the Ring. He both loves and hates the Ring, and his personality has split in two: the kindly but weak-willed Smeagol and the evil Gollum. Because he was computer-generated (despite Andy Serkis providing the base image), Serkis was ruled ineligible for a Best Supporting Actor nomination. Although not particularly fair, it is understandable since computers did his facial acting. Had he been nominated, his Oscar would have been in the bag.
New to the story is John Noble, who plays the Denethor, the steward of Gondor. He is the functioning king since Aragorn has not taken up the throne. Denethor, the father of Boromir (Sean Bean) and Faramir (David Wenham), is a man who has been driven mad with grief over the death of his favorite son Boromir (and he makes no attempts to hide it from his other son). Sounding and acting very similar to Paul Scofield, Noble gives one of the best performances in the film...and everyone is at the top of their game.
But the real star of the film and the series is none other than Peter Jackson himself. Although New Line Cinema, who essentially risked everything for the franchise, only cared about getting a huge payback for their investment, I doubt they expected the films to be this good. The film is a grand spectacle from frame one, but Jackson never loses sight of the characters. They may be larger than life (a must with this sort of movie), but they are all three-dimensional and sympathetic.
Jackson's grasp of storytelling exceeds all expectations, especially when it comes to action sequences. The climactic battle of Gondor is truly a sight to behold. Awesomely huge in scope and executed with the skill of a master, this sequence goes down in history as one of the finest battle scenes ever filmed.
It's impossible to truly express how wonderful these films are, and none is better than "The Return of the King."
Starring: Elijah Wood, Viggo Mortensen, Sean Astin, Andy Serkis, Ian McKellan, Dominic Monaghan, Billy Boyd, Orlando Bloom, John Rhys-Davies, John Noble
Rated PG-13 for Intense Epic Battle Sequences and Frightening Images
I haven't read J.R.R. Tolkien's works, but I'm positive that if he were alive to see Peter Jackson bring his celebrated fantasy saga to the screen, he would be overjoyed. Taken with the first two films, what Jackson has created is not only a cinematic translation of a complex story, but he has crafted an epic adventure worthy of the history books. It will be a long time before we see anything like it again (although the first part of "The Hobbit" is due out this December).
The War of the Ring is in its final throes; both sides are desperate to win, and the side of evil has the upper hand. Frodo (Wood) and Sam (Astin) are journeying deep into Mordor to destroy the Ring, but success is an unlikely prospect, and returning home is probably impossible. Aragorn (Mortensen) must rally the world of Men to come together to save the city of Gondor, which is first on Sauron's hit list. And Merry (Monaghan) and Pippin (Boyd) become more than mere tagalongs.
It could be argued that the final chapter is more Aragorn's story than Frodo's (in fact, the same could be argued about the whole story). Indeed, Aragorn's rise to become the King of Men is indeed the most compelling aspect of the film. Mortensen gets the character's determination, heart and self-doubt down pat to create a larger-than-life yet surprisingly human character. While it's debatable whether the actor deserved an Oscar nomination for his role (Mortensen's range is quite limited), it would have been at least understandable.
That's not to say that the other stories are boring. Frodo's disintegration is both disturbing and sad. Frodo is stronger than anyone, even himself, realizes, but the evil of The Ring is beginning to take a toll on him. He has become exhausted and weak, and the possibility of him giving in to the Ring's power is very real. Add to that fact the twisted wretch Gollum (Serkis) who is both helpful and a hindrance, and Frodo may very well fail.
Also of note are Merry and Pippin, the two hobbits who tagged along on the journey for fun. They too find their place in this battle, and realize that they are a part of something massively important. They begin to understand that there are things that are bigger than themselves and there are things worth dying for.
Finally, there is Gollum, the former hobbit who has become a truly bizarre creature because of the power of the Ring. He both loves and hates the Ring, and his personality has split in two: the kindly but weak-willed Smeagol and the evil Gollum. Because he was computer-generated (despite Andy Serkis providing the base image), Serkis was ruled ineligible for a Best Supporting Actor nomination. Although not particularly fair, it is understandable since computers did his facial acting. Had he been nominated, his Oscar would have been in the bag.
New to the story is John Noble, who plays the Denethor, the steward of Gondor. He is the functioning king since Aragorn has not taken up the throne. Denethor, the father of Boromir (Sean Bean) and Faramir (David Wenham), is a man who has been driven mad with grief over the death of his favorite son Boromir (and he makes no attempts to hide it from his other son). Sounding and acting very similar to Paul Scofield, Noble gives one of the best performances in the film...and everyone is at the top of their game.
But the real star of the film and the series is none other than Peter Jackson himself. Although New Line Cinema, who essentially risked everything for the franchise, only cared about getting a huge payback for their investment, I doubt they expected the films to be this good. The film is a grand spectacle from frame one, but Jackson never loses sight of the characters. They may be larger than life (a must with this sort of movie), but they are all three-dimensional and sympathetic.
Jackson's grasp of storytelling exceeds all expectations, especially when it comes to action sequences. The climactic battle of Gondor is truly a sight to behold. Awesomely huge in scope and executed with the skill of a master, this sequence goes down in history as one of the finest battle scenes ever filmed.
It's impossible to truly express how wonderful these films are, and none is better than "The Return of the King."
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