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Summary: There and not quite back again...
Review: The Return of the King is the third and last part of Peter Jackson's trilogy based on JRR Tolkien's epic fantasy masterpiece, the Lord of the Rings.Saruman the traitor has just been defeated, both in Isengard and Helm's Deep, and so Gandalf and Pippin ride towards Gondor and its capital Minas Tirith, to offer the Riders of Rohan's help to Denethor. But after the death of his beloved son Boromir, which he blames Faramir for, the stewart of the White City has lost all hope of surviving the war against the armies of Sauron, and is now teetering on the brink of insanity. Out of pride, he refuses to call for help. Taking advantage of his smaller size to pass undetected, Pippin lights the beacons all the same, signalling the Rohirrim, led by King Théoden, to start their march East. Among them are also Merry and Éowyn, eager to fight alongside her kin in the battle on which depends the fate of all mankind, and Gimli, Legolas and Aragorn, still in doubt about his destiny and heirloom as king of Gondor. Meanwhile, Gollum is leading Frodo and Sam further into the dark land of Mordor, up treacherous, vertiginous stairs and through tunnels filled with dangers, Frodo's mind slowly giving in to the power of the Ring he set off to destroy. I'm finding it very hard to concentrate on my job today, I keep staring at the void, my head filled to the brim with images of the film. What a blast! The actors, and the Hobbits in particular, are amazing, the sets, costumes and visual effects are stunning, the music is riveting! Want to know more? Well, I wouldn't want to spoil it, so just go watch it!
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Summary: Beautiful, Stunning, Breathtaking
Review: I saw this movie at midnight last night and it was amazing. The end was beautiful and the fight scenes were extremely well done. The chrachter plots ended well and the coronation scene was beautiful. Definitly a must see!
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Summary: the best for last
Review: Just saw it at the Tuesday 12/16/03 midnight showing. Far and away the best of the three films. It has the best writing and the most-focused direction. It has the warmth and emotional involvement the first two films were lacking. It will easily get Best Picture and Best Director, if only to acknowledge the stupendous effort that went into making the trilogy. But it's unquestionably a great film, something that might have been argued about the first two.
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Summary: Best Movie of 2003, should win Oscar
Review: Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, should finally force the Academy of Motion Pictures to award the Oscar to a fantasy film. Yes folks, I have seen it, and it is that good. Of course the acting and special affects are outstanding, but what really impressed me about this movie was the pacing. You would think that over 3 hours the movie would drag in places, but no, the time flew by as Peter Jackson brillantly weaved the plot between storylines. I cannot imagine a movie more deserving of the Oscar this year. If you are a fan of the trilogy I highly recommend this film, and if you haven't seen the first two films, I recommend watching them and then going to see The Return of the King.
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Summary: Cinematic History
Review: Having just seen "The Return of the King".It is hard to imagine that in our lifetime we will see a cinematic epic of the quality of this concluded trilogy..especially given the quality of the source material from which they were adapted!...Stunning cinematography,superb acting..especially in the characters of Gandalf,Samwise,andGollum(yes,Gollum!) panoramic scenes of apocalyptic warfare,and the most horrifying monster (Shelob)to date!.In an age where CGI is so overdone as to be tedious(think Matrix series) the whole world of Tolkien's Middle Earth is faithfully rendered(at least faithful to the way I remember the place when I visited there while reading the books for the first time! lol!)in a seamless blending of computer imaging and real life New Zealand locations! As a Tolkien fan I applaud the entire effort,fully recognizing the limitations placed on the director in attempting to be faithful to the essential aspects of the story,and changing the details in a way that feels acceptable to me!.....Now to wait awhile....and someday open the pages yet again to a bright sunny day in the Shire at the door where it all began!
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Summary: It Does Justice!
Review: I have just returned from LOTR ROTK. It's almost 5 am here but wanted to write a quick note for all those planning on seeing it tomorrow that are still scouting reviews. It seems there is almost 100 reviews and I only found one in the first half from someone saying they have seen it so maybe my 2 cents will help. :)
They did it justice. Rich without being crass and impressive without crossing the line, ROTK is the year's best trilogy ending and quite possibly one of the best action movies in years. I believe the visuals and the direction bring to life not only the pages of the infamous series but also the brilliant mind of Tolkien. On the negative side, some may say it is long, and they are correct. THough I didnt see more than a mere two or three squimish in the theatre. I do think that the editing that was done for theatre viewing slightly cheapened the story, with the post-climax scenes occasionally seemed to be trivialized. A couple times it seemed like it was over, fade to black or fade to white and then a couple seconds later another scene opens! This was funny watching the people get up and then sit back down...only to get up and sit down again a minute later! This "is it over now" technique did make it seem that ending scenes were included mainly for the diehard book-to-screen translation fans. Typical American action movies end within a minute or two of the final battle, often zooming out of the end battleground to credits. The fact that they did it differently does show in one more way how this is not your typical action flick. It also illustrates something else interesting...this film's brand of humor. That brings us to the top three things I could think of on the way home. WHy I think they did it better than many other past franchise installments. One, they kept it serious. Screenwriters didnt interfere and find the need to pen in comic relief. Very few cheesy one liners. No Jar Jar Binks. Many people have a preconceived notion that scifi/fantasy is child's subjects and adding content in for comedy often just reinforces that. Two there was a low level of fake looking scenes. Scenes where you say "is that as good as they could do?". Scenes like the windgliding the wave post avalanche in Die Another Day or similar scenes in the Mummy Returns. Third, they didnt blatantly leave it open for a sequel. It ends where a sequel would not be impossible, but there still is closure. I don't put it past Hollywood to leave good enough alone anymore and wanting to try to hook you for another round should the numbers look good, you know? In summary, There was times when my mouth was hanging open (and not for popcorn either)! You will be highly entertained, more in the second half I'd say without having ever heard of a hobbit. Though you'd really enjoy it if you watched 1 and 2 first. There is evidence of enthusiasm and ambition for the project everwhere, and combined with a great entertainment value (almost 3 hours long) equals an uncommon cinema experience for the whole family. (Compare to Men In Black II...expensive to make and only 80 min. if u count the credits...lol) My hats off to Mr Jackson and his entire team. They brought something previously seen only in the imagination to the big screen for all to see. They did it justice. Enjoy!
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Summary: Finnishes the best movie ever
Review: I saw this movie, on the 16th. (I devoted my whole day to it, I watched my Fellowship and Two Towers DVDs before seeing it.) I loved it like I wouldnt have thought. When I got home, I was shaking. It is so amazing. Hands down, best movie of 2003. And in my oppinion, Lord of the Rings was the best movie I have ever seen. Even if you did not like the first two, go. It will get you loving the other two, and if you already did(like me) you will love them all even more. There is no way to describe how great it was. (I cant wait to see it again tomorrow) I won't reveal anything, but, I'l just say that the battles were breathtaking, and I loved how the relationships evolved.
(Eowyn and Merry) Of course, if you plan to go to any other movies, and want to enjoy them, they will seem like nothing compared to Return of the King.
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Summary: A Fulfilling Depiction of the End of a Classic Tale
Review: As the screen opened up to the familiar title of "The Lord of the Rings", little could I have expected to experience such a film as "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King". From its very onset, the movie picks up the storyline of "The Lord of the Rings" where the movie "The Two Towers" left off. While "The Return of the King" is different in some ways from the book bearing the same name, it holds most true to the spirit of the book. It is by this adherance to the spirit of the "The Lord of the Rings" that "The Return of the King" by Newline Cinema is most successful. "The Return of the King" has to cover much ground, chronologically, in order to finish the tale of the War of the Ring. Because of this "time crunch" the producers/directors/writers of the "The Return of the King" were forced to make changes that would cut the story into a reasonable length. This is true for any movie, especially one based on a previously-written narrative. However, the occasional changing of events in "The Return of the King" only lead to greater emphasis being placed on the important motifs of the story. "The Lord of the Rings", as a book, is a most timely story to be told to the modern world. It embodies a mood of self-sacrifice for the saving of the world. It is in the time-frame of "The Return of the King" that this theme is most prominant. The movie, most gracefully executed, expresses this theme throughout the entire work. The men of Rohan are depicted in their full, self-sacrificing, Anglo-Saxon-like glory. Aragorn, in his lofty role, sees the need to save Middle-Earth before being concerned with his status as the heir of Isildur. Throughout the movie, characters build this theme of sacrifice, being extremely moving and faithful, in spirit, to the story told by Tolkien. I highly suggest this movie to ALL audiences of middle-school age and older. It is timeless, depicting a story of love and self-sacrifice. Of all possible movies to review, "The Return of the King" definitely deserves 5 out of 5 stars.
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Summary: Have Just seen it and it's Great!
Review: "The Return of the King" exceeds all my expectations! I doubt that, considering the time and budget restraints, Peter Jackson and Co could have done a better job! Yes, there is the problem of Saruman and his sudden omission from the trilogy and yes some parts did in fact feel a little rushed! But as I previously stated I think they have done justice to Tolkien's story. Aragorn comes into his own and by the end of the movie he seems to possess an air of nobility that was previously lacking. The other characters also seems to contribute more, often giving hope to Gandalf in times of despair rather than vice versa!
The opening scene is great and we get to see Gollum as he was before when he was one of the "river folk", Smeagol! It is also rather disturbing as we see him murder Deagol in a brutal scene that shows just how powerful and evil the power of the ring really is. The movie then goes from strength to strength. We see Aragorn walk the Paths of the Dead and enlist the help of the "Oathbreakers". We also get to see wonderful battle sequences that in my opinion are much better than the battle at Helm's Deep. Eowyn fights the Nazgul and the Witch KIng of Minis Morgul and Frodo and Sam have to deal with the bloated and disgusting Shelob. The ending was spectacular and way beyond my expectations, which were however not too great in the first place when I heard that the "Scouring of the Shire" was omitted. The Grey Havens and the final departure is moving and woderfully done. All in all a wonderfull adventure adaptation of a timeless masterpiece. I can't wait for the DVD extended edition and then sit down to about 10 hours of movie ecstacy while watching the trilogy in its entirety.
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Summary: Peter Jackson And Crew: You Have Done It!
Review: Director Peter Jackson and his crew deserve high applause for creating the phenomenal "Lord of the Rings" movie-trilogy. All three movies are breathtaking and "Return of the King" makes a proper ending for the trilogy. It is better than film one and two! Its a proving fact. I was stunned when I wactched "Return of the King" in theaters!
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