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Review by Dustin Putman
3½ stars out of 4
In the two years since the release of 2001's "The Lord of the Rings:
The Fellowship of the Ring," awareness and general fandom for the
film adaptations of J.R.R. Tolkien's epic fantasy trilogy has grown
to near-astronomical levels. At this point, to not be familiar with
the story of Frodo, Gandalf, Aragorn, and the rest of the characters
is to be living on a different planet than the rest of us. And thanks
to director Peter Jackson's grandiosity in scope and imagination,
passion for the source material, and skill at emotional adeptness,
"The Lord of the Rings" has, for many people, ceased being a mere
motion picture and become something more akin to a spiritual experience.
If "The Fellowship of the Ring" was a tightly executed, exciting opener
that naturally lacked a conclusion, and 2002's "The Two Towers" was
a disappointing, generally sloppy and dull follow-up that had no beginning
or end, then the final installment, "The Return of the King," not
only improves upon the latter, but also surpasses all expectations
set up by the former. So majestic, so magical, so awe-inspiring, so
behemoth in scale, and so extraordinarily brought to lif e is nearly
every minute of "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" that
it not only breaks the curse of the lacking third feature in trilogies
(i.e. "The Return of the Jedi," "The Matrix Revolutions"), but it
makes its predecessors look positively quaint in comparison. To say
that "The Return of the King" is this already-classic trilogy's paramount
achievement is to understate things.
Once again, director Peter Jackson has made it imperative that viewers
be more than a little familiar with the two previous films, wasting
no time dropping us into the middle of the narrative. As hobbits Frodo
(Elijah Wood) and Sam (Sean Astin) continue to make their way to Mordor's
Mount Doom to destroy the dangerously sacred One Ring, emaciated,
muliple-personalitied guide Gollum (Andy Serkis) attempts to lead
Frodo into the path of danger and turn him against best friend Sam
in a secret attempt to steal the ring for himself. With the intoxicating
allure of the ring taking its toll on the exhausted Frodo, Sam suddenly
finds himself gaining the strength needed to see that they both complete
their mission, or die trying.
Meanwhile, with Rohan's battle at Helm's Deep behind them, wizard
Gandalf (Ian McKellen) and hobbit Pippin (Billy Boyd) set out for
the city of Minas Tirith to warn the citizens of an imminent invasion,
while human warrior Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen), elf Legolas (Orlando
Bloom), hobbit Merry (Dominic Monaghan) and dwarf Gimli (John Rhys-Davies)
go looking for other forces to fight beside them in the ultimate battle for Middle Earth.
As much of an awesome technical triumph as "The Fellowship of the
Ring" and "The Two Towers" were, it is clear that director Jackson
was saving all of his major goodies for last. "The Lord of the Rings:
The Return of the King" not only raises the bar to even grander heights,
b ut it may very well go down as one of the most astounding visual
spectacles ever made, and with good reason. The enormity of this concluding
chapter does not only cover its running time (at 201 minutes, it is
over twenty minutes longer than the other pictures and at least three
times as entertaining as "The Two Towers"), but also its flawless
aesthetic artistry. Even if it doesn't seem possible going in, "The
Return of the King" stands as a new watermark for the evolution of
visual effects. So realistic are they, and so seamlessly are they
woven into the sweeping exhilaration of Andrew Lesnie's cinematography,
that one immediately stops thinking of the computer-generated images
as effects and believes them to be nothing but genuine.
In retrospect, the choppy, underwhelming Battle at Helm's Deep featured
in "The Two Towers" seems to have been a deceptiv e plea on Jackson's
part for audiences to believe he was incapable of pulling off large-scale
battle sequences. In "The Return of the King," he pulls the rug out
from under the viewer in a joyous way, unleashing a two-part assault
known as the Siege of Minas Tirith and the Battle of Pelennor Fields
that has to be seen to be believes. Bringing together most of the
characters and different breeds of creatures for the first time, this
one-hour-plus action setpiece is one of the cinema's most rousing,
riveting, mind-blowing stretches of eye and ear candy to ever be conceived.
These battles are more than just a lot of noise and fire; they involve
strategy, intelligence, narrative coherence, and a progression of
the plot that proves to be fully satisfying.
"The Return of the King" is an immersive experience, never less than
truly involving and wondrous. Because of this, its couple flaws do
not weigh down on the film as a whole in any significant way like
the more readily apparent pro blems with "The Two Towers" did. In
adapting such an immense novel to film, rough edges are bound to be
found, anyway, and the editing by Jamie Selkirk and Annie Collins
is this go-round's biggest offender. The wide range of locations the
film switches back and forth from in the opening hour can become challenging
to sort out, and certain story threads disappear for what in the film's
timeline is several days, but are picked up in the same spot where
they were left off. These transitions are jarring, but not catastrophic in the long run.
The lovely performances from the recurring cast hold more poignant
resonance and significance than they have in the past, because by
this time a generous amount of time has been spent developing them
and their plight. Andy Serkis, with the help of the photorealistic
CGI used to mimic his movements, is once again an unforgettably haunting
and oddly endearing presence as Gollum, and Ian McKellen (2003's "X2")
reclaims the alternating warmth and regal command of Gandalf after
being pushed to the wayside in "The Two Towers." Finally separated
from each other and, thus, gaining an identity of their own are hobbit
cousins Merry and Pippin, who before were basically interchangeable
both physically and in their personalities. Billy Boyd (2003's "Master
and Commander: The Far Side of the World") is particularly superb
as the frightened Pippin, who is put under the watchful eye of the
selfish Steward of Gondor, Denethor (John Noble), and in one incendiary
scene is forced to sing as his comrades set off into battle.
The undoubted standouts of "The Return of the King," however, are
Elijah Wood (1999's "Black and White") and Sean Astin, as Frodo and
Sam. It is through their heartfelt bond that exposes the true center
of "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy, which is that of a love story,
non-sexual in nature, between two best friends who come close to losing
each other and must fight to prevail. Astin is simply heartbreaking
and worthy of awards notices; his Sam started off in the trilogy as
something of a sidekick, but has grown to be the film's real hero.
The frustration and fear he feels in losing Frodo to the power of
the ring is intimately felt, as is the strength he finds in himself to carry on.
The final twenty minutes of "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of
the King" may seem extraneous to some viewers. Indeed, one highly
emotional scene is followed by another highly emotional scene, each
one gratifying and lovely. They consistently appear to be the actual
ending until the movie proceeds further , tying up loose ends and
pressing forward as much as four years into the future. However, save
for the real last scene, which could have probably been discarded
without any dire effect, this elongated epilogue is necessary. It
exposes the trilogy to, first and foremost, be about the loss of innocence,
and the difficulty in returning to one's old life after it is stripped
of them. This is a heavy, thought-provoking theme, to be sure, and
it proves that what director Peter Jackson has done with "The Lord
of the Rings" encompasses anything ever attempted before in the fantasy genre.
No matter how monstrously big, fantastical, and special effects-heavy
it becomes, then, what separates it from most other motion pictures
of its type is that it never loses sight of its humanity. "The Lord
of the Rings: The Return of the King" is a triumph of cinematic craft,
energy, and originality, and on more than a few occasions it borders
on downright brilliant.
Copyright © 2003 Dustin Putman
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out of 4
