 As amazing as the first two "Lord of the Rings" movies were, they served mainly to build up to this final part of the triology. Even though my expectations for this film were extraordinarily high, "The Return of the King" lived up to them and even surpassed them in many ways.
Much of the second "Lord of the Rings" movie is a climactic build up to the battle at the end of the film. This final movie is even more climactic, building off everything that has taken place in the first two movies. The creation of the Fellowship, the long difficult journeys, all the battles that have been fought -- they are all in vain if Frodo cannot get to Mordor and destroy the ring.
While Sam and Frodo are separated from the rest of the Fellowship, they continue in faith that their fellow comrades are winning the war. Likewise, Aragorn, Gandalf, and company continue fighting based on the belief that Frodo is succeeding in his mission. Towards the end of the movie, when it seems like hope is lost for both sides, even the faithful Gandalf expresses his distress for Frodo. There is a great line where Aragorn responds, saying he refuses to believe Frodo is dead, but has faith that Frodo will succeed in his mission. This message of faith in the midst of tremendous adversity is the a powerful theme in the movie.
Alongside faith is the familiar theme of good triumphing over evil. This is displayed in both the epic battles between the humans and the Orcs as well as the individual determination of Frodo and Sam to accomplish their goal. Sam's friendship to Frodo is unwavering and proves to be necessary in order for Frodo to succeed.
While a lot of focus is placed on the relationship between Frodo and Sam, there is not as much character interaction in this movie as the first two. This is mainly because the characters have been mostly developed in the first two movies and much of this movie is focused on the battles. While this is how JRR Tolkien wrote the book, I would have liked to have seen a bit more individual character attention on the screen.
Fortunately, the battle scenes are incredible, and I dare say, even better than the first two movies. The contrast between good and evil is as stark as ever in the continual clashes between the humans and the Orcs. The lighting plays a big part in generating this contrast, as the evil side is dark and dimly lit, whereas a constant glow accompanies the warriors of the good side.
The seamless tapestry of special effects and raw footage from the first two "Lord of the Rings" films is continued in this film. The shots of Mordor, including the dark caverns and mountains with flowing lava are incredible. The widely panned shots of the scenery create a believable environment and really draw the viewer into the setting. When the shots are zoomed in, you feel like you are actually in Middle Earth, watching the battles.
"The Return of the King" has a variety of soundtracks for the different scenes, ranging from dark and dismal, to triumphant and glorious. Just like the previous two installations, the music adds significant feeling to each scene, further drawing the viewer in.
This is a long movie, close to 3.5 hours in the theater and 4.5 hours on DVD, but it is so well done, that it kept my attention the entire time. I felt the ending was a little long, but I guess when you're wrapping up three whole movies at once, you can't just say "The End," and be done with it. Also, I felt that certain scences cut out of "The Return of the King" theater release that were in the DVD should definitely have been included in the theater version instead of some other scenes that made the cut.
Overall, "The Return of the King" is an incredible movie that serves as a worthy conclusion to the first two "Lord of the Rings" films. It is a classic in our generation and gives justice to the brilliant work of JRR Tolkien. |
|
|
|
