Fit for the king himself. (The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (Extended Edition, DVD))

Member Name: MandyMinx

Product:	The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (Extended Edition, DVD)
Date:	03/02/04 (100 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: great story, great scenery, great direction

Disadvantages: long

I have to admit that when those in the know, in the cinema industry, start talking about turning one of the worlds most magical books into a motion picture I very often cringe. Such books are so powerfully written that the reader creates their own interpretation of the characters and the scenery that make the tale so absorbing, so believable. Our imaginations are wonderful tools. The ability to close your eyes and lose yourself between the words on a page is a gift that we are very lucky to have and I am very often resentful of movie directors and special effects people, trampling over the many worlds and scenarios that I have created around the stories that I have shared.


Lord Of The Rings- Return of the King is the third and final instalment in a trilogy that has long been hailed one of the greatest stories ever told.

Episode one....The Fellowship of the ring left me wondering if the cinematographer had made a mistake with the film. One minute we were watching little Frodo discover the ring and the next there he was, standing on the edge of a mountain, this mighty quest ahead of him and then the credits began to roll. Huh!......What was that all about then. The scenery was stunning and the costumes amazing. We had been introduced to many of the main characters that would accompany us on this wondrous journey of discovery, but I think introduction is the right word for this film. The Fellowship of the ring, laid all the groundwork for the films that followed.


Episode two.....The Two Towers would have been really hard to follow I think without seeing the first and even then there were so many sub plot lines going on in the background of this film that I found myself getting lost around many of its twisting corners. There were so many stories to be told, so many really important foundations that needed laying, so many ingredients that needed throwing into the mixing bowl if the finishing cake were to be iced properly. Where 'T
he Fellowship' concentrated on Frodo, 'Towers' began to strengthen many of the other characters. We are introduced to the hideous Gollum, we get our first glimpse of the battle ground and when this particular film ended I was left with a whole host of questions, the most prominent of them all being....Where was this all leading?


Having seen The Return of The King. I now have the answer to my question.
It was all leading here.

Frodo (Elijah Wood) and Sam(Sean Astin), our brave and loyal hobbits, are on the last, but hardest stage of their journey to destroy the ring. With them the hideous Gollum(Andy Serkis), dead set on taking back his precious and prepared to kill to do so.
Sauron's orc army is on the move, out numbering our hero's fifty to one, things look bleak for middle earth. Pippin (Billy Boyd) and Gandalf (Ian McKellen) are off to Minas Tirith to warn King Denethor of an impending attack. Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen )prepares for battle, knowing that he is the king that can unite the Fellowship and bring the people together. With the help of King Theoden's Rohan crew, trusty elf (Orlando Bloom) and dwarf Gimli (John Rhys-Davies) he ventures into the mountains to call forth an army that consists of the tortured souls of dead men. Can good conquer evil? Can middle earth be saved? Will Frodo succumb to the power of the ring?
I will tell you no more. You will have to see the film.

Lord of the Rings, Return of the King was visually stunning. The scenery breathtaking, the special effects truly amazing.

Each of the characters was taken to another level in this film. Credit has to go to Elijah Wood who was able to make us believe in Frodo, however impossible the road ahead seemed to be. I did find him a little gooey at times, but hey, he was only three foot tall for goodness sake. His loyal friend Sam, who seemed to just be tagging along for the ride in the two previous films became much more
than a friend to little Frodo, he becomes Frodos life force, his motivator. Any doubt about the importance of this character are quickly blown away and Sean Astin, who plays him, is a face to look out for in the future.
In Gollum, the hideous, snivelling guide, I found myself looking for humility. I found none. Again an important character. Through Gollum we are able to see the strength and the conviction that is Frodo. Looking at him we can see the constant battle that rages within him as he fights to keep the ring from taking him over and reducing him to the monster Gollum has become.
Viggo Mortensen is another actor who has been able to evolve his character throughout the three films. Where as in the first film we see him almost bitter and unyielding in his resolve, by the time we get to part three Aragorn has learnt to be a king and a leader.
Orlando Bloom sizzles as the quiet, yet enigmatic Legolas. I have to admit that every time he came on screen my mouth watered.

When you read the book one of the things that Tolkien definitely gets across to you is the horror that is the army of Orcs. We are talking about creatures with no humanity, no pity, no remorse. Their grotesque images, their uniform evil is brought to life in this film. For the cinema goer to understand the heroics of the characters fighting for middle earth, their foes had to be fearsome and these definitely were. Giant trolls, fire breathing dragons, mammoths with spikes the size of tree trunks attached to their tusks, ridden by painted demons. The special effects were superb and definitely believable. All credit to writer and director Peter Jackson.
The music soundtrack was excellent. The music was appropriate and not at all overpowering, adding to the scenarios rather than distracting.
If I had to moan, and I am loath to do so, it would be the big spider. It reminded me of one of those old dinosaur films.

It is only when you see this film that you realise wh
ere Peter Jackson was leading with that long winded opener and then the confusion that was the large number of , what seemed insignificant characters and needless sub plots that made up episode two.
He was leading here. The final battle. The final episode.

Peter Jackson brought Middle Earth to life and made me believe through his stunning photography and hideous battle scenes that this was a fight we desperately needed to win. Yes, it was gruesome. There was a scene where the Orcs use a catapult to shoot the decapitated heads of those men that had fallen in battle, over the walls of the city. Jackson is able to portray the evil of this army, in all its glory, without resorting to buckets of fake blood.
I entered the cinema with so many questions I needed answering. I have to admit I was a little worried that Jackson was going to be one of those naughty little directors that felt the need to leave a few edges frayed, just in case some fat bigwig waved a wad of cash in front of his nose and asked him to invent a continuance somewhere along the line.
I am delighted to say that all my questions were answered, all frayed edges neatly ironed flat. Where I found the second hard to follow, this film brought everything together. One plot, one mission.
What I got was three hours of riveting entertainment that left me almost overwhelmed and exhausted, but totally satisfied.
I have to say that this film did nothing to damage the images of Tolkeins world I had already conjured. In fact I would say that it brought them to life.


There were a few children in the cinema and I did notice a few of them were getting a little restless as the film went on. Three hours is a long time but it wasn't too long. Not for this film.
I think the certificate 12 A is about right. There isn't that much blood and gore, but the images of the Orc army are disturbing and the fight scenes are intense. I would suggest before you take your youngster t
o see this, you decide whether they will be able to sit still for the full three hours. I personally had to drag myself out for a wee I was so desperate not to miss anything.
The ending of the film, when the battle is over and all is right with the world again drags on a little for me.

My opinion.
The Lord of the Rings, Return of the King is one of the best films ever made, like its predecessors, a spectacle of the first order but more sculpted, more finely tuned.
The Oscars are already decided this year mates, this one wipes the board.
Go see it on the big screen. If you wait for DVD you'll wish you hadn't.

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