Hi – I am ringer ‘Hornhead’. Thought you might want to post this review
All is well that ends well? If so, Peter Jackson’s “The Lord Of The Rings” trilogy has established itself in cinematic history. It ends very well. This is true for the trilogy as a whole with the third installment, “Return Of The King” but it is especially true for the final film – it ends very well.
The movie is grand. The movie is epic. The movie is historic. The movie is a spectacle. The movie is satisfying. None of those attributes matter a whit however unless the movie is personal and emotional and intimate as well. None of those things matter if a member of the audience doesn’t invest herself in the characters. ROTK’s greatest strength, by far, is the way that it gently emotes. Sure the battles are edge-of-the-seat, the heros are heroic, the bad-guys are powerful and despicable and grimy and misshapen inside and out, but the entire success of this film hinges on the wrap up.
Modern audiences are savvy and intelligent and they have traveled the road of good vs. evil plenty of times before and they realize that mostly good wins. So while there is danger and some apprehension, and the end of the day, all will be well.
Jackson, in ROTK, has delivered an emotional experience beyond the victory. He has given us characters – in two films of build up and this film of delivery – who don’t exist simply in the messy parameters of the battle-field but who exist in the battle at all because they belong to cultures and societies and communities stretch far beyond the conflict of swords and arrows. Jackson then gives us not only the exhilaration of physical victory but the emotional fallout of friendships, fears, loyally, courage, platonic love, sacrifice, romantic love, greed, jealously, hate, suspicion, nobility, despair and the occasional Gimli giggle.
Now, those are my impressions but there is a lot of detail yet. Spoilers lurk ahead and as for me, I suggest not reading them. But I know many of you will. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I was lucky enough to have a screening with no previews. We just jumped into the spooky New Line logo and then Wingnut Films and off we go. The film opens with a worm. What hopes to be the grandest movie of our time opens with a worm? Indeed, and appropriately so. It should be noted that I went in as spoiler free as humanly possible and I think that was the right choice. STOP NOW! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Okay, so anybody still reading probably already knows we get a Gollum flashback to start the film. This accomplishes two things: We gain some sympathy for the character who is about to turn up the nasty meter to “11.” (Nastier than 10..old movie reference) It also really drives home the fact that our creature Gollum used to be hobbitish Gollum and Andy Serkis, which increases the peril for our Frodo. WETA’s decision to make Gollum look a little Andyish was brilliant and pays off here. Great decision. Finally after the Gollum prologue, we get our title “Return Of The King” and it is full speed ahead.
The film, a bit like Two Towers, shifts character focus. This cannot be helped of course because folks are all over the place but unlike Two Towers, the changes seem less frequent and the story will linger with a particular group longer. Now, I didn’t have a stopwatch to time this, but this is how it felt to me. TTT was appropriately fractured while ROTK seems appropriately blended.
Pippin gets his palantir which was handled okay and worked inside the film as the plot progresses, but I personally did pine for Christopher Lee. Jackson made the right decision for this film, but I think the winding up with Grima and the evil wizard should have been part of the previous film. However, there really isn’t room for it here. I cannot fathom losing minutes of this film, let alone seven to accommodate the old wizard. Treebeard’s dialog does indeed leave the audience with an answer and even at this early point in the film there are far bigger things to think about. When Gandalf says that his threat is gone, we believe him. I really couldn’t help but notice a GIANT SPIKY WHEEL on set however. It looked profoundly familiar. I hope somebody we get the full story that Rings fanatics read about way back in “the day” with that TheOneRing.net spy picture from New Zealand.
So, I don’t want to rehash the movie but there were some things that surprised me a little which will not be possible if you read the next part. Turn back before it is too late!
I was surprised that Merry and Pippin were quite central to the major events of the film. They have been along for the ride in the two previous chapters and they have lightened the mood a bit, but this time they are dramatic and important, more important than I suspected. In this regard, the book is followed quite closely, which is happy news – or at least to me.
On a similar note, I was surprised how effective Shelob was in being creepy and scary and how correctly all the events surrounding Frodo, Sam, Orcs and Shelob were. Kudos to the writers in these efforts. I also feel strongly that saving this for ROTK was much better than putting in TTT. The women next two me, one familiar with the books and the other completely clueless, were both squirming around and covering eyes. Once again, this followed the text in most points. And, Shelob IS big enough. After the show a friend questioned me about the effects which I reported were very good. Then he narrowed his focus to Shelob, which stunned me because I didn’t even consider her an effect. She was so well done and so agile and real, that in my mind she was like one of those Hollywood grizzlies that live in Colorado and work in movies. It is easier for me to think of her returning to her spider cage than to think of her being animated by a computer and some fellow monster-loving geeks.
Our attention is divided into lots of groups. Frodo, Sam and Gollum are together. Gandalf and Pip on another. Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli make another. Rohan and its cast is yet another and let me pause to commend Bernard Hill as the man who did the most with a modest part. He was fantastic. Unlike TTT, these stories and events between the divided group have a lot of effect on each other. These characters are aware of each other and although apart, it feels that they are working together.
I fear going on much too long and I never intended to give a play-by-play of the film. Before I leave I must highlight the ever-so-slight tarnishing on the film. I felt that after the Pellenor fields (which wouldn’t have suffered from being longer) the ride to the black gate and the events there felt rushed. No mouth of Sauron. Too rushed. The tension there just wasn’t quite as palpable as one might hope. My real problem with the film is that in those spots it didn’t get to breath properly. Already I am awaiting the extended edition!
Highlights: Witch king. Fell beasts. Miranda Otto’s Eowyn. Howard Shore’s best score of the films. Bernard Hill. Merry and Pippin becoming full characters. The last 20 minutes and woah is that Pete Jackson a tease with his conclusions.
The credits are much better this time around and you will understand when you see them.
And, before I go, since everybody talks about such things…will this film win Oscars?
Well, best director is locked I think. Best picture is a real possibility. Actors? I doubt it. There are too many excellent folks doing too much to get credit. Sean Astin has a real chance at a nomination and so who knows? If only somebody were an addict and mentally off…oh wait, Gollum and Frodo are. Technical awards are probably a slam dunk because Matrix fell so flat at the box office and therefore public/academy opinion. Nothing else, IMHO, can give it a run.
The closing hymn is great. The surest sign that I loved this film? I want to see it again, right now.
As promised, here is my Academy screening NO SPOILERS review. This was at Time/Warner on 51st Street NYC.
I am so happy! Warmly happy, yes, and I’m also sad. Both at once. In fact I feel just like I feel when I get to the last pages of the book. I said to my still sniffling colleagues as we rode the elevator down, I forgot how sad it all is, and that watching this movie would make me feel bad at the end, not good. (I mean that in the best sense!) I spent the day so eager to get to the screening room and for the lights to dim, that I naturally expected to feel celebratory afterwards. Believe me, there is plenty to celebrate about this film, but at the moment I am still mourning for poor Frodo.
I loved it. Yes, wholeheartedly. I suppose I can’t really say I m satisfied because what I mostly want, I can’t have for more than two weeks: I WANT TO SEE IT AGAIN! Ah me, where to start. Well, at the important part. The ending. Yes, dear friends, they get it right. It’s not the book but they get it right. Yes it has six endings and I love every one of them (I didn’t really count them!). Every one is earned and every one works. I was hoping for a few more, to tell you the truth, I did NOT want it to be over. BTW, they also get the climax right!
The film is stunning. Amazing. Frightening. Breathtaking. Heartbreaking. Epic and intimate all at once. Elijah delivers every single solitary moment and will probably be overlooked for acting honors simply because he doesn’t seem to be acting, he seems to be crawling to Mordor to destroy the One Ring. Astin is fantastic and so, so right. Viggo delivers. Bernard Hill, Liv and John Noble are all wonderful. But really, it’s wrong to single anyone out since they are all so amazingly good. I want more of them all, of course.
Peter Jackson and his marvelous team make it all look so easy. He takes you so fully into Middle Earth that you forget you’re watching made-up creatures and all you can do is react to them emotionally. The Nazgul, the Mumakil, the Orcs, the Trolls. You feel the weight of the odds against you. When you see, along with the Rohirrim, the heart-crushing view of Minas Tirith surrounded by the hordes of Mordor you want to find some place to hide to save your own skin, rather than rev yourself up for a death ride against them.
So many amazing moments. Smeagol and Deagol, Frodo’s first moment with The Ring. Pippin and the Palantir, Eowyn and Merry, Gandalf and Pippin’s arrival in Minas Tirith! Denethor sinking into madness. The Beacons of Gondor! What visual and emotional poetry is made of this! The muster of Rohan! Aragorn and Anduril! Shelob spinning Frodo! Sam charging up the stairs in Cirith Ungol, Naked Frodo! The arrival of the Corsairs. All of Mt. Doom and The Last Battle. And the eagles! The eagles! I think they have my favorite moment of all.
A word of warning to those who know the books, (no, don’t be worried): You know how jarring it is to watch these films the first time through because it’s so hard to put THE BOOK aside. Well, I had that feeling on and off for about the first hour and then it totally went away. The beginning has the most changes and feels the most awkwardly cut. I didn’t miss Saruman at all, although I will be thrilled to see his scenes restored on the DVD. Purists will find plenty to complain of since there are missing words, scenes and beats and, frankly, several missing concepts, and believe me, I understand what Moriarity means by problematic and its not bad. I swear, I think there could have been six more movies made of just this material. What IS on screen is so fantastically realized that you just can’t help wanting to see everything they left out. The changes in this third film are less on the invention side and more on the ramp up the tension side, and no doubt we will be arguing for many months whether some or any of it was justified or not. But for me it’s just like taking a different path to get to the same beloved place.
Oh yes, my friends, all who love Tolkien’s story and his grand masterpiece, you are going to need those Kleenex. Unless you never cry while reading the books. Come on Dec 17th!
Be strong and resist spoilers. You will love being surprised,
Don’t know if you have posted it yet I somehow did miss it or such …
Finally some information about Trilogy Tuesdays here in Sweden … some BIG cinemas in Stockholm, Göteborg, Malmö and to a much lesser extent Umeå WILL screen the two extended versions followed by ROTK, but MANY many smaller cinemas will also do a maraton with the shorter TEs.
The SEEs will screen in the mentioned cities for some week(s) and ticket sale for those did start 28/11 even if some are not bookable yet at their website. No general Trilogy Tuesday tickets – you have to buy them individually.
And the ticket for ROTK itself start selling the 8th of december, in most cities 08:00 it seems, the first day for us queuers only, from the 9th also via telephone and their internet site …
Sara sends in this report from her fun day at the ROTK Red Carpet Parade in Wellington:
Hey to all the great folks at ToRN,
Just spent the entire day camped outside the Embassy Theatre to catch all the action at the Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Premiere! Wow, what a day!
The Sun was beating down relentlessly and I’m seriously feeling the burns now, but it was worth the wait! I made my way down to the Embassy Theatre at about 10 this morning, and there I was met by all the fans that were serious about getting an autograph, some had camped out all night, some came at six this morning, while I — seeing as I was at the Return of the Ringers party last night — slept in and came late, but none the less I got a good spot for star spotting! Right behind the press area.
They had the huge screen so we could all watch the parade as it wound its way from the houses of Parliment along Lambton Quay, Willis Street, Mercer, Wakefield Cuba, and Manners St. and finally where they joined the Red Carpet at Courtenay! It was fantastic to see, the reception they recived was something else! They were fanfared by Easterlings, Hobbits, Rohirrim and Elves all the way. The wait was a long one, but so worth it! They showed all the fans their appreciation by signing and taking pictures!!
Got some great pics, and all the stars were gracious enough to answer the fans calls and hoots and give us a wave! Liv passed by first and rather quickly. She walked the whole length of the red carpet in her bare feet so as to be able to talk with everyone she could! How sweet is that? Liv is followed by David Wenham, Billy and Sean, then Elijah, Bernard Hill, and John Noble, JRD, Bruce Hopkins and Peter Jackson, Andy and Viggo and lastly Hugo and Orlando, who as always got a warm welcome! I didn’t see Dom, till he was on the stage! It just so happed I was behind ToRN’s one and only Quickbeam, so all the stars made a great effort to talk with him and thanks to that I got some great photos! Thank you!!!!!
Alas no signatures and my ROTK book remains, sadly, empty! But there were some kindly news guys who took upclose photos with ppls cameras for them.
The stars were ushered to the podium and after some speeches by Barry Osbourne, the Mayor, and Prime Minister. Peter then took to the stage to say his thank yous. To the people of Wellinton and New Zealand, his partner Fran Walsh and to all the cast and Crew, Weta, Richard Taylor and Philippa Boyens.
The each cast member came to the mic and said their thank yous! And some, like Sean Astin’s were very moving. They posed for several group shots and afterward were ushered away! The crowd loved every minute of it and at the end of the day I’ll always be so pleased to say that I was here for this once in a lifetime event.
I live in LA and work in the movie business, so I was able to go to the first Academy Awards screening of ROTK yesterday. Thanksgiving day, and they still filled a big theater – I think that says something about the enthusiasm of LOTR’s many fans in the film industry!
What struck me most was how much ROTK really is the third act of one huge epic. All climax and payoff. I couldn’t even begin to count the number of thrilling action sequences. And yet, even more than with the other movies, the emotional focus is tight on the characters.
The LOTR movies actually have less in common with fantasy like STAR WARS, and more in common with classic epics like LAWRENCE OF ARABIA and SPARTACUS. So in a fairly traditional sense, ROTK is an old fashioned War Movie. We get the incredible battles, but also the fear in anonymous soldiers’ eyes, and our heroes desperately overcoming that fear to do what has to be done – which is of course what MAKES them heroes. Happily, ROTK doesn’t glorify war, but rather the impulse for sacrifice, putting yourself on the line for a greater good.
But what all LOTR fans will be saying as they leave the theater is “I cried!” Don’t bring a date if you don’t want them to see you cry. Do bring Kleenex, whatever. If you love these characters, you’re going to cry. Like nine times. Sad crying. Happy crying. Happy-sad crying. You get the picture.
Legolas does a stunt you will never forget, battling an Oliphaunt (Mumak, whatever). Sam is the bravest character in any movie, ever. Just the sequence of Pippin singing for Denethor while Faramir rides off on a suicide mission should net Peter Jackson a Best Director nomination. Eowyn ROCKS as action heroine. And you really DON’T want to know what comes through that gate when Minas Tirith is breached.
That being said, I bet this will be the LOTR pic that improves most on DVD. Obviously the Saruman sequence will be missed by fans. But some of the other character stories definitely seem truncated too.
Aragorn has great stuff to do, but we miss a couple of beats in his transformation. No Houses of Healing – in the book, a nice moment where he “proves” his Kingship in a non-warlike way, and where we see how much the people WANT a King. Same with Denethor – we never really get the sense that he is a good and noble man who has fallen low. He seems spiteful, rather than tragic. His sons are so noble, I found that incongruous. And Arwen is barely present, seeming more like she did in the book – a gift-wrapped prize for the King. Finally, though we spend lots of time with Frodo and Sam, even their trip through Mordor is somewhat ellipsed at the end. Jackson et al seemed mainly concerned with making it clear how the Minas Tirith battles are connected with Frodo’s story. This was probably a wise choice, especially for the larger audience who may never have read the books.
But the bottom line is, this is a massive epic which even three LONG movies can barely contain, and Peter Jackson & Company did a great job of bringing it to an incredibly exciting climax and a VERY fulfilling ending. The last few scenes of the movie are particularly well crafted. There’s a very subtle, understated scene after the Hobbits return to the Shire, with almost no dialogue. Everything is told by the looks on their faces. These are good actors! And then there’s the Grey Havens. (See KLEENEX, above)
Antman writes: On PrimeTime thursday on ABC, thanksgiving night they had a preview of next week’s show that will be all Return of the King. They showed some clips of stuff from ROTK, if this is news you might like to know.
Aragorn and Eowyn are loading horses to go somewhere, and Eowyn says something like “it is tradition for the women to see the men off” and aragorn looks on her horse and sees her sword and asks here why she’s bringing it.
They showed a green screen shot of Aragorn standing at the black gate amidst the battle looking up at something with wind blowing agaist him.
They show Pippin (or merry i cant remember) screaming for help as he runs away from a dead oliphaunt.
Gollum climbing stairs to cirith ungol talking about how “we must climb the stairs”.
Aragorn talking to theoden at the Dunharrow tents about how he is worried that there are not enough soldiers for something, and Theoden reassures him that “more” will come.
Then there was some stuff with Liv Tyler saying that she’s sad its over, wardrobe/props people, and some candid shots of Viggo and Ian McKellen giving thumbs up to the camera.
