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The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King ends the Tolkien trilogy of man coming back to power. There are two good lines of dialogue in the film: "Courage is the best defense" (said against overwhelming odds) and the line by Sam (Sean Astin) when he and Frodo (Elijah Wood) separate for a period of time. Sam longingly says, "Don't leave me alone. Don't go where I can't follow." That is what fans will be saying when they realize there will be no more Lord of the Ring films and next holiday season will be ordinary. With the theme of coming to the aid of another country threatened by invasion, and emphasizing the word "honor," Peter Jackson's film has special meaning at this time.

Director Jackson pulls it together in a grand finale movie with several skirmishes before the BIG BATTLE that pits the Orcs and their minions against men, elves, dwarves and hobbits. There are battle armaments that look suspiciously like something from Star Wars. The talented Andy Sirkis again shows Gollum as a duplicitous creature, and the beginning of the film brings us Gollum's story and how the ring possessed him. You won't see that much of Liv Tyler (Arwen) and even John Rhys-Davies' (Gimli) part is diminished (excuse the pun), but watch out for Miranda Otto (Eowyn) on a horse and Orlando Bloom (Legolas) in battle.

The story begins with the ring's possession of Gollum and his possession of the ring. They deserve each other. We go to the end of the battle in The Two Towers, with water everywhere and the talking trees in charge. The rest of the film moves from one story to another. There is Gollum leading Sam and Frodo to Mordar and the pit where the ring was forged. This journey involves adventures, including a test of friendship and Frodo's encounter with a spider on steroids. At the same time, Merry (Dominic Monaghan) and Pippin (Billy Boyd) are trying to find a place for themselves. Pippin finds Sauron's evil glass ball, and it mesmerizes him before Galdalf throws a cloak over it. To keep Pippin safe, Gandalf takes him to Gondar, which is under the stewardship of Denethor (John Noble), father of the deceased Boromir (Sean Bean) and the very much alive Faramir (David Wenham.) Denethor takes Pippin as an indentured servant, but absolutely won't go to any country's rescue. Gandalf's pleadings are in vain. In the meantime, over at Rohan, King Theoden (Bernard Hill) doesn't exactly want to go to anyone's aid, either, even with the entreating of his militant daughter, Eowyn (Miranda Otto) and the former Ranger, Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen). It takes subterfuge by Gandalf and Pippin to get everyone on the move. This scenario is shown in a wonderful scene as giant signal pyres are lit, one after another, from mountaintop to mountaintop alerting everyone to organize and come to help. Tossed in for good measure is the lingering affection of Aragon for Elvin Arwen, plus Eowyn's pining for Aragon. There are battle scenes with armored horses against foot soldiers, flying lizards the size of 747s, battle elephants the size of apartment buildings, Orc catapults that fire back the severed heads of their enemies, the evil Witch King of Angmar who utters a fateful line "No man can kill me," a confrontation with a ghostly army and Frodo trying to decide whether to get rid of the ring -- or not. So, movie fans, you can see that three hours and twenty minutes is barely enough to get everything in, and that not satisfactorily. What eventually happened to Eowyn? Or Gimli? 

Tolkien's writings are relevant, especially with events of the past six months. We are at war now and against an enemy that uses any means to further its cause. The battle scenes in Return of the King show the good guys vastly outnumbered by the bad ones, yet the good guys are willing to go at it one more time. The courage of one person can overcome many odds, and friendships last forever. Tolkien's story is about a new kind of people (Orcs) against man and World War II was just such an instance. History has a habit of repeating itself, though, and Tolkien shows the variety of kings that Middle Earth had at that time. There was Theoden of Rohan, a courageous man who was sometimes slow to battle. Denethor, steward of Gondar was beset with greed, and this problem colored his judgment. Aragon was part of a line of kings but reluctant to step forward and take power. In Return of the King it takes a wizard to pull them together with the help of hobbits. 

Lord of the Rings: Return of the King is certainly a great ride. Horses in this film act as much as human beings. Special effects are spectacular, from Gollum to the giant elephants, to the city of Gondar to Mordar and its rivers of fire to the spider that must have taken lessons from the creature in Alien, to a ghostly army. At the finish of the film, this reviewer was virtually shell-shocked (excuse the pun again). Words of honor and deeds of heroism go side-by-side with evil and at the end of the road is a narrow passage to victory through which only one can go through. Which shall it be? Oh, and the wailing and gnashing of teeth? The Ring fans who won't have another film to visit next year. There is always football or soccer.

Copyright 2003 Marie Asner
Submitted 12/10/03

CAVEAT: I have read the Lord of the Rings several times and therefore knew exactly how the story was going to unfold. There were no surprises for me on the screen. Just so you know...

December in the movie business has come to mean that it is time for another installment in Peter Jackson's adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy. This year gives us the final film, Return of the King.  Just as in the second movie, The Two Towers, Jackson gives us no introduction to what has happened in the two previous chapters; he just jumps right into the story.

The movie follows the hobbits Frodo (Elijah Wood) and Sam (Sean Astin) and the wretched hobbit-like being Gollum (Andy Serkis) as they make their way to Mordor in an attempt to destroy the One Ring, made by the evil Sauron and known to be the source of his power. In the parallel story, we see Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen) and Gandalf (Ian McKellen) leading the defense of the city of Minas Tirith against Sauron's army of orcs, trolls and evil men.

Return of the King is epic in every sense: the scenery, the story, the characters, and the battle. The amazing visuals of the battle in The Two Towers only hint at the spectacle that occurs in the last defense of the city of Minas Tirith. At the same time, you connect with the characters. You feel loathing toward Gollum and deep sympathy for Frodo in his struggle with the overwhelming evil desires of the ring. And you are uplifted by Sam's unfaltering loyalty.

Wood's Frodo seems to garner more sympathy in this film as the psychological weight of the ring becomes more obvious. Serkis turns in another wonderful performance as the schizophrenic Gollum. Astin's portrayal of Sam is right on, showing his determination and devotion while not making him a simple caricature of enthusiasm.

The journey of these three into the very heart of Mordor has all the elements of the classic adventure: danger, uncertainty, and betrayal. The story plays on your emotions without making you feel like you have been needlessly manipulated.

The parallel story of the defense of the city is told with the same amount of care. While the people of Gondor are valiant, they are also scared. The battle sequences contain enough humanity that you feel sympathy for all who are involved as pawns in a war that is bigger than every one of them.

Unfortunately, with so many characters, there are going to be holes. Denethor (John Noble), the steward of Minas Tirith and the entire realm of Gondor, is bitter without any real explanation why. The dwarf Gimli (John Rhys-Davies) still seems to be in the movie to serve as comic relief. The love story between the human Aragorn and the elf-maid Arwen (Liv Tyler) is pushed more to the background in this movie.

The strength of all of the characters in this movie is their humanity. There are no superheroes here, just real people (elves, dwarves, men and hobbits), all with very human emotions. While some of the characters are less developed than others, they all have depth to them.

Of course, this movie isn't a character study. It is, at its heart, a tale of good versus evil. And on that level it succeeds marvelously, with all the elements of such a story thrown in, all in proper measure. The story moves along more quickly here than in the first two movies, which will satisfy the more action-oriented. However, the majesty of Tolkien's world is not sacrificed just to keep things moving.

This movie is a fitting end to what has been a very fulfilling adaptation of Tolkien's masterpiece. You should leave the theater feeling exhausted, but very pleased about it.

Robert Reid     12/16/2003

The end of one of the greatest film epics has arrived, and it's epic. Coming in at 3 hours, 20 minutes, Return of the King is a jumbo-sized conclusion to the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Your backside might get a little sore (there isn't an intermission), but your mind will be thoroughly entertained.

If you've somehow not been paying attention the last two winters, The Lord of the Rings is director Peter Jackson's adaptation of the J.R.R. Tolkien saga. The story focuses on a band of nine, including hobbits and men, an elf, dwarf, and Gandalf, the great wizard, who set out to destroy an evil ring. Opposing them are the forces of purest evil: Sauron and Sarumon, two wizards intent on claiming the ring for themselves. The first installment ended with the fellowship being split up. The Two Towers ended with the defeat of Sarumon but a rising danger as Sauron sets out to conquer the world. The Return of the King brings the story's various threads together in a series of massive battles.

Those who complained that there was too much fighting in The Two Towers haven't seen anything yet. The battle for the major human stronghold at Minas Tirith seems to go on for 90 minutes of siege and counter-siege, with the tide turning as various forces come to help each side. It is an incredibly powerful display of movie magic, with huge mastodon-like creatures and the flying Nazgul leading the charge against the forces of good, with Gandalf atop Shadowfax rallying the troops. The special effects are awe-inspiring, and the production design is spectacularly beautiful. Jackson's panoramic shots of Minas Tirith and Mordor are glorious in their texture and detail.

With all of the fighting going on, there's not a lot of room for character development or even dialogue. The teen girls will be keenly disappointed to find that Legolas (Orlando Bloom) has diminished to a minor character, getting far less screen time than the King of Rohan or Eowyn, his daughter. And the thrill of The Three Musketeer-like trio of Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli has been shucked off as Aragorn takes center stage. This is in keeping with the book, but it was still a little disappointing. The hobbits become much more important figures in this final film, though. Frodo and Sam continue their quest to destroy the ring, and Merry and Pippin play major parts in the battles on the plain.

For all of the grandeur on display, the film feels a bit bloated at times, with Jackson extending the battle sequences slightly longer than necessary, letting characters' rousing speeches (every fight seems to have two or three) carry on just a smidgen more than you'd like, and actually buying into Tolkien's much extended epilogue. And what's up with the lighting in this film? The highly-anticipated encounter with Shelob the spider is undermined by Jackson's decision not to film in almost total darkness, thereby mitigating the sense of dread and danger. The same is true of Frodo and Sam's struggle through Mordor itself, where the light of Mt. Doom is actually battling with what seems like an early-morning sun. There shouldn't be any sun in Mordor. And as Elijah Wood finally takes center stage as Frodo, it's become apparent that that haunted look of despair is the only acting trick in his bag. Would that Sean Astin (who plays Samwise) would've switched parts with him.

Yes, I'm quibbling, but I quibble because I love. I had high hopes for Return of the King, and though I tried to be fair and not expect toooo much, still I hoped for something amazing. Return of the King is a marvelous achievement, especially when you compare it with other third movies (I'm talking about you, Matrix: Revolutions). But it's not a masterpiece, and it doesn't even measure up to The Two Towers. It's an old-fashioned, battle-filled epic, filmed with style and panache, and I guess we should be happy with that.  

J. Robert Parks  1/16/2004