"The Lord of The Rings: The Return of The King" Review

 

"The Lord of The Rings: The Return of The King"

Directed by Peter Jackson

Starring Elijah Wood, Viggo Mortensen, Ian McKellen, Sean Astin, Andy Serkis

 

RATING

10/10

 

'Home is behind, the world ahead

And there are many paths to tread

Through shadow to the edge of night

Until the stars are all alight

Mist and shadow, cloud and shade

All shall fade

All shall fade'

 

- Billy Boyd & Howard Shore, "The Steward of Gondor"

"The Lord of The Rings: The Return of The King", the final chapter in this massive trilogy. Everything that you've seen before in the previous films, from the sheer scope, magnitude, and scale of events have built up to this, and peaks very high with it too. I cannot give the filmmakers enough praise and credit for crafting this absolutely mesmorizing work of art. Where do I begin?

 

"The Return of The King" picks up where "The Two Towers" left off: Frodo and Sam are still being lead down a treacherous path by the scheming Smeagol who wants the ring for himself, Merry and Pippin enjoy the fall of Isengard under the command of Treebeard, and Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas, together now with the ressurected white wizard, Gandalf, are regrouping and preparing for the final war of Middle-Earth about to begin. Things are so close to the edge right now, and everyone is holding onto their swords while quivering. Something big is about to happen, revolution of good or evil is coming, and everyone knows it. The fate of Middle-Earth rests in the hands of Frodo... quite literally.

 

Peter Jackson, the big guy behind the camera, is the visionary who brought everything together. His vision of Middle-Earth in all of the films is impeccable, and you are so absorbed by this world that even the galaxy far, far away seems empty and cold. The direction is flawless, and the framing of each shot is immaculate. It's basically an aspiring filmmakers wet dream. Howard Shore also brings his A-game with the score, booming and echoing through the scenarios as it becomes a vital element to the story. All the actors also give it all they've got, and I admire the dedication they have to the source material. This is entirely Viggo Mortensen's film as he  simply embodies the character of Aragorn perfectly, and portrays his rise to kingdom whole-heartedly. This is, after all, the return of the king. Another standout of the cast is Andy Serkis as Smeagol, who from the opening scene of film, we get an idea of just how insane and obsessive he really is. Like in "The Two Towers", he is also a scene-stealer here. His methodical madness is both frightening and intriguing as he snakes his way between Frodo and Sam's friendship. I'll say it again: the Oscars seriously need to reconsider motion capture work in their field. Two characters whom I feel I never quite touched on much before are Legolas and Gimli, the elf and dward whose immense hatred for each other in "The Fellowship of The Ring" blossomed into a pretty humorous and heartfelt friendship. In the battle of Helms Deep in "The Two Towers" and especially here, they treat the war as a game as they pick off the orcs by keeping a tab. It's a small detail that brings plenty of comedy to the more dark and ominous battles. Ian McKellen as Gandalf is just as awesome as ever before, providing the more magical elements to the film. His presence in all of the hard times is always re-assuring, to both the characters and viewer as he is somewhat of a spark of hope. And finally, Elijah Wood as Frodo, who I feel is quite underrated in the entire trilogy despite him being the primary protagonist. Wood does a superb job of creating this seemingly weak and vulnerable exterior, but also having a twisted and ambiguous mindset. It's a difficult balancing act for an actor to perform, and Wood nails it. Sean Astin's heroic portrayal of Frodo's guardian, Samwise Gamgee, is already a certified classic buddy character with the heart of stone and the will of a raging lion. He wants nothing more than to rid the ring, even moreso than Frodo, and his Astin's devotion to this character trait is phenomenal. He is the epitomy of a best friend willing to do anything for peace, even if it means carrying Frodo all the way up the smoking Mount Doom.

 

My most favorite aspect of the entire trilogy has always been the Nazgul. I don't even know where to begin with these guys... They're the vile, malevolent, utterly badass embodiments of Sauron's dark soul, mentally demonic and hellbent on the slaughter of every living creature in Middle-Earth. In essence, they're the most evil group of sons of a bitches ever put on celluloid. And I adore them. The leader of the Nazgul, the Witch-king of Angmar, takes up the appearance of Sauron too, spiked crown and all. He becomes what non-Tolkien film geeks everywhere have been hoping for: a physical incarnation of the Dark Lord himself. Though his downfall is a bit odd, his ascendance to big general badass motherf***er is nightmarishly spectacular to witness in motion.

 

The action in the past films is perfected here in "The Return of The King". The great war for Middle-Earth that takes place on the planes of Gondor is just as equal, if not bigger and more exciting, than the Helms Deep battle. It's viscerally heart-pounding as the grand scale and magnitude of such a war has never been done before on film. Even Spielberg would be shedding tears of awe and bewilderment. The force that gets the viewers behind the side of the good guys (if you haven't already, shame on you... yeah, I know I just spoke about how awesome the Nazgul were... I'm such a hypocrite...) is not the desire to make it through alive, but what is at stake. Tokien didn't waste time beating around the bush by giving us miniscule battles to develop a huge one with a disappointing pay-off... he went balls out and gave us the grandest battle he could imagine. God bless you. Peter Jackson, as I mentioned before, frames and shoots these scenes with "big" in mind, and he outdoes himself. Well-deserved Oscar for Best Director, I reckon.

 

When the climax of the film arrives, you feel as if the world literally hangs in the balance. Frodo, who has made his way into Mount Doom, hangs the ring over the edge of the cliff about to drop it into the fire and all you can think about is, "THIS IS IT!" while spontaneously having a spaz attack (Tolkien geeks, I'm talking to you). Then, the arrival of Smeagol puts a dent in the plan and everything, if even for a few minutes, throws the entire film and audience off-guard and into vulnerability. Aragorn, who gathers the remaining few still alive from Gondor's mayhem, storms the gates of Mordor with the determination of a king, like he should be, all for the sake of giving Frodo adequate time and space to make it through. This is such a humanizing moment that I loved. When the dust settles and the smoke is clear, we do have about half an hour still left before the film concludes, but you feel like you're losing a best friend. The journey through the films was all I could've ever hoped for in such a breathtaking journey.

 

"The Lord of The Rings: The Return of The King" is the timeless epic we desired, we needed, and we deserved. A true cinematic masterpiece.