Post by Elessar on Dec 11, 2003 4:57:47 GMT
I have no idea where this one came from, it was posted on another message board. It's great! Probably one of my favorites so far.
"The Return of the King," the final installment of Peter Jackson's "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, arrives with the weight of enormous pressure: to improve upon the first two (excellent) films, to satisfy its fans' diverse longings, to avoid the letdown curse that has plagued other fantasy series, and to win a whole bunch of Oscars, particularly Best Picture and Best Director. Going into an advanced screening with my own absurdly high expectations, I felt a little sorry for Jackson and his fellow filmmakers, lest in the flurry of hype they fail to get credit for having given everything they had to give, regardless of the outcome.
I needn't have worried. "The Return of the King" is the grandest, most majestic and stirring film epic I have ever seen, and it firmly establishes a place for the trilogy in the annals of cinematic history.
Combining the grace of "The Fellowship of the Ring" and the energy of "The Two Towers," "The Return of the King" tells (or rather completes) a story of amazing emotional power. With impressive fluidity, the movie depicts the final battle waged against the evil lord Sauron for the dominion of Middle Earth and the survival of all its good creatures. The focus of the war has turned to Gondor and the lovely city of Minas Tirith, where Gandalf (Ian McKellen) and Pippin (Billy Boyd, revealing unexpected depth) arrive early on to find its steward (John Noble) unfit to raise or command an army. As they work to rally the city against a host of enemy thousands (and to prevent captain Faramir from meeting an untimely death), the warriors Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen), Gimli (John Rhys-Davies), and Legolas (Orlando Bloom) witness the mustering of Rohan and then set out to the Paths of the Dead, whose ghostly inhabitants must bow to Aragorn's newly accepted birthright as heir to the throne of Gondor. All of the heroes meet on the Pelennor Fields during the eye-popping siege of Minas Tirith, including stowaway soldiers Eowyn (Miranda Otto) and Merry (Dominic Monaghan). From there, the action turns toward the land of Sauron himself, where Frodo (Elijah Wood) and Sam (Sean Astin) contend not only with despair, thirst, exhaustion, and Orcs, but also the treachery of Gollum (Andy Serkis) and the (perfectly rendered) horror of a giant spider named Shelob.
The great triumph of the film is the way it weaves brutality and beauty so seamlessly that it becomes not an action movie with dramatic elements or a drama with battle scenes, but a true epic about the stuff of life: courage, death, honor, unity, hope, and love in myriad forms. It begins with a shocking instance of slaughter that expands to engulf all of Middle Earth, leading to bloodshed and violence of a far more graphic nature and on a much larger scale than anything we have seen before. Yet in addition to the savagery (and sometimes because of it), "The Return of the King" includes moments of such sheer poetry that it almost hurts to witness them. From a haunting dirge sung by Pippin to the lighting of signal torches from Gondor to Rohan (a thrill so breathtaking I may never recover), there are images in this film that will probably stay with you for the rest of your life.
In addition to its visual and visceral impact, "The Return of the King" draws much of its power from the personal stories that come to fruition in the final chapter of the tale. From the start, Jackson's take on J.R.R. Tolkien's story has emphasized the bonds of affection that unite not only the principal characters but all the honest races of Middle Earth. "The Return of the King" expands upon this theme; the sad, strange, or sustaining relationships between parents and children, leaders and followers, men and women, siblings, and comrades in arms inform every scene. As with any classic saga, its heartbeat rises above the roar of armies and the clash of metal to convey the depth of feeling inherent in genuine brotherhood and devotion --- a feeling that hits home most strongly in the cruelly tested but enduring friendship of Frodo and Sam, one of the greatest love stories of all time. (The film's single flaw is that it leaves a new relationship unexplained, which may confuse people who haven't read the books. Happily, the extended edition DVD is sure to remedy this concession to the requirements of running time when it comes out next year.)
Peter Jackson deserves more than a handful of Oscars for completing his masterpiece on such a high note. (But I hope he gets them anyway.) "The Return of the King" represents the highest achievement to which a film can aspire, a rare instance of passion, craftsmanship, and technology coming together in perfect harmony not just to impress but to express, where the telling of a story supersedes all other ends. A work of art that actually advances the legend upon which it is built, "The Return of the King" offers viewers transport to a world of untold visual and emotional wonder whose cinematic magnificence not only entertains, it elevates the spirit."
"The Return of the King," the final installment of Peter Jackson's "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, arrives with the weight of enormous pressure: to improve upon the first two (excellent) films, to satisfy its fans' diverse longings, to avoid the letdown curse that has plagued other fantasy series, and to win a whole bunch of Oscars, particularly Best Picture and Best Director. Going into an advanced screening with my own absurdly high expectations, I felt a little sorry for Jackson and his fellow filmmakers, lest in the flurry of hype they fail to get credit for having given everything they had to give, regardless of the outcome.
I needn't have worried. "The Return of the King" is the grandest, most majestic and stirring film epic I have ever seen, and it firmly establishes a place for the trilogy in the annals of cinematic history.
Combining the grace of "The Fellowship of the Ring" and the energy of "The Two Towers," "The Return of the King" tells (or rather completes) a story of amazing emotional power. With impressive fluidity, the movie depicts the final battle waged against the evil lord Sauron for the dominion of Middle Earth and the survival of all its good creatures. The focus of the war has turned to Gondor and the lovely city of Minas Tirith, where Gandalf (Ian McKellen) and Pippin (Billy Boyd, revealing unexpected depth) arrive early on to find its steward (John Noble) unfit to raise or command an army. As they work to rally the city against a host of enemy thousands (and to prevent captain Faramir from meeting an untimely death), the warriors Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen), Gimli (John Rhys-Davies), and Legolas (Orlando Bloom) witness the mustering of Rohan and then set out to the Paths of the Dead, whose ghostly inhabitants must bow to Aragorn's newly accepted birthright as heir to the throne of Gondor. All of the heroes meet on the Pelennor Fields during the eye-popping siege of Minas Tirith, including stowaway soldiers Eowyn (Miranda Otto) and Merry (Dominic Monaghan). From there, the action turns toward the land of Sauron himself, where Frodo (Elijah Wood) and Sam (Sean Astin) contend not only with despair, thirst, exhaustion, and Orcs, but also the treachery of Gollum (Andy Serkis) and the (perfectly rendered) horror of a giant spider named Shelob.
The great triumph of the film is the way it weaves brutality and beauty so seamlessly that it becomes not an action movie with dramatic elements or a drama with battle scenes, but a true epic about the stuff of life: courage, death, honor, unity, hope, and love in myriad forms. It begins with a shocking instance of slaughter that expands to engulf all of Middle Earth, leading to bloodshed and violence of a far more graphic nature and on a much larger scale than anything we have seen before. Yet in addition to the savagery (and sometimes because of it), "The Return of the King" includes moments of such sheer poetry that it almost hurts to witness them. From a haunting dirge sung by Pippin to the lighting of signal torches from Gondor to Rohan (a thrill so breathtaking I may never recover), there are images in this film that will probably stay with you for the rest of your life.
In addition to its visual and visceral impact, "The Return of the King" draws much of its power from the personal stories that come to fruition in the final chapter of the tale. From the start, Jackson's take on J.R.R. Tolkien's story has emphasized the bonds of affection that unite not only the principal characters but all the honest races of Middle Earth. "The Return of the King" expands upon this theme; the sad, strange, or sustaining relationships between parents and children, leaders and followers, men and women, siblings, and comrades in arms inform every scene. As with any classic saga, its heartbeat rises above the roar of armies and the clash of metal to convey the depth of feeling inherent in genuine brotherhood and devotion --- a feeling that hits home most strongly in the cruelly tested but enduring friendship of Frodo and Sam, one of the greatest love stories of all time. (The film's single flaw is that it leaves a new relationship unexplained, which may confuse people who haven't read the books. Happily, the extended edition DVD is sure to remedy this concession to the requirements of running time when it comes out next year.)
Peter Jackson deserves more than a handful of Oscars for completing his masterpiece on such a high note. (But I hope he gets them anyway.) "The Return of the King" represents the highest achievement to which a film can aspire, a rare instance of passion, craftsmanship, and technology coming together in perfect harmony not just to impress but to express, where the telling of a story supersedes all other ends. A work of art that actually advances the legend upon which it is built, "The Return of the King" offers viewers transport to a world of untold visual and emotional wonder whose cinematic magnificence not only entertains, it elevates the spirit."