Recent Reviews for The Lord of the Rings - The Return of the King
Recent Reviews
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MCT:November 28, 2008
''The man who can wield the power of this sword can summon to him an army more deadly than any that walks this earth. Put aside the ranger. Become who you were born to be. Take the Dimholt Road.'' [In Elvish]
''I give hope to men. I keep none for myself.''
The former Fellowship of the Ring prepare for the final battle for Middle Earth, while Frodo & Sam approach Mount Doom to destroy the One Ring.
Viggo Mortensen: Aragorn
Return of the King asserts itself as the final and best of the Rings Trilogy. I recall seeing it at the cinema and despite my disappointment at Saruman being cut from the theatrical version and others, including certain Witch King scenes plus The Mouth Of Sauron at the Black Gate which I loved in the book. Despite these missing the film had me glued for it's three hour duration from start to finish.
Be it the the amazing conversation between Elrond and Aragorn where he gives him the sword. Although in the book his sword is remade and given to him in Fellowship nevertheless I admit this scene is great cinema and really sells the pure adrenaline and emotion of Aragorn's beginning transformation into a King through his impending fight against Evil, against Sauron.
Like Two Towers we are treated to separated characters, on one side it flicks to Sam, Frodo and Smeagol as they approach Mordor and Mount Doom then back to Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas trekking towards the Paths of the Dead and preparing for battle. But King really is faceted because then we also have all these other pivotal characters Gandalf and Pippin at the White City in all it's magnificence with the maddened Denethor. Theoden and Eomer preparing to help Gondor from the descending armies of darkness. The secretive Eowyn with Merry going to fight even thought they are not permitted too. Return Of the King gives so much detail and luscious fantasy and story before we even come to the battle scenes its a great film. Chuck in the battle at the White City, the final climactic onslaught at the Black Gate and the powerful scene where Sam carries Frodo up Mount Doom showing the powerful bond of friendship and vigor, bravery and compassion, then what you have is not only a film which is great but one that is the definition of what can only be described as close to perfection.
Much to my satisfaction the Extended Version of Return of the King capitalizes on the already perfect theatrical version and dressing it with details sadly missing previously. What we then have are the scenes with Saruman, the Witch King parts and the Mouth of Sauron back in which I mentioned were missing. Also more material from the book to do with Faramir and Pippin, Sam and Frodo's mishaps in Mordor and their disguises as Orcs and Aragorn looking finally into the Palantir to make himself known and seen to Sauron is particularly captivating and effective.
For me a film can never be too long or too short, and rarely when you get a film as incredible as King do you want it to end. I know I didn't, it's magical and mesmerising, be it a moving scene with Ian Mckellan and Billy Boyd preparing for fighting at Minas Tirith or Elijah Wood and Sean Astin struggling with the Ring's evil resonance, this film is pardon the pun very precious.
A true masterpiece from Peter Jackson and his crew and cast fulfill his vision, Howard Shore utilizes the Score and adds to the beauty that is Return of the King.
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MCT:February 21, 2007
An epic of the grandest proportions, this film truly sums up what a rounded film of such large heights should look like. Being the finale' to the trilogy, The Return of the King had the potential for more action and more emotion, and luckily we are given this through some fine filmmaking. Jackson stepped up his game from the previous two installments to prove his prowess in this field, the score is magnificent, the cinematography and mixture of effects was jaw-dropping, etc. etc. This is a truly fantastic film, and WORTHY of it's Oscars. To sum up what this film is: it is a modern day 'Star Wars', and I can back that up with many points.
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MCT:October 28, 2006
The end of one of the best movie trillogies ever made, this was the best movie in the set.
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MCT:December 2, 2008
And the third masterpiece...
Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky,
Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone,
Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die,
One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.
One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,
One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie. -
MCT:December 1, 2008
It was awesome, but long. I had to pee badly, by the end. Speaking of end: it did it a million times
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MCT:December 1, 2008
What a great movie. It is an amazing third entry in the LOTR triology. It is so epic and long and wonderful. The acting isn't always the best, but that doesn't matter. It is realistic, a great adaptation of the book, and a great end to the trilogy.
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MCT:December 1, 2008
Aragorn: "Hold your ground, hold your ground! Sons of Gondor, of Rohan, my brothers! I see in your eyes the same fear that would take the heart of me. A day may come when the courage of men fails, when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship, but it is not this day. An hour of woes and shattered shields, when the age of men comes crashing down! But it is not this day! This day we fight! By all that you hold dear on this good Earth, I bid you *stand, Men of the West!* "
Guided by Gollum, Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee struggle on towards Mount Doom in Mordor. But unknown to them, Gollum desires the ring for himself and is sewing the seeds of distrust to separate Sam from Frodo, with the intention of then betraying Frodo into the lair of the giant spider Shelob and taking the ring once he is dead. Meanwhile, reunited with Merry and Pippin, Gandalf realizes that Sauron is massing his forces against Gondor and rides to Minis Tirith to raise the steward of Gondor, Lord Denethor, to call upon the Riders of Rohan to help defend the city. But Denethor has fallen into madness and Gandalf?s only choice is to defy his orders and call the armies himself. As Sauron's orc armies mass, the numbers of the men remain pitifully small and Aragorn realizes that their only chance is for him to claim the sword that will make him the king and rally to his side the cursed dead of the Dunwold.
[after Legolas single-handedly takes out an Oliphant and its drivers]
Gimli: "That still only counts as one."
There is great dramatic reverence to the emotional arcs of the story this time around, as if Jackson was covering his behind to make the sure the trilogy is paid off in full. The Sam and Frodo plot thread is handled almost religiously, backed by ethereal choirs and Jackson's newfound use of slow motion. Viggo Mortensen seems more comfortable with a flailing sword in his hand than with a crown on his head, and the character mirrors that sentiment throughout the film. The hobbits are the real heroes in "King," which is truly the theme of picture. But all of these plot elements are really secondary to the special effects and the battles. big set-pieces of the venture into Shelob's lair and Aragorn's raising of the dead of the Dunwold feel for the first time in the series less like parts of a journey that is a greater piece of the whole than they do merely episodic adventures. What worked so well in the Battle of Helms Deep sequence in The Two Towers was the stunning scale of the battle sequences, the sense of the destiny of the entire world at stake, and of a pitifully tiny few group of people facing an overwhelmingly huge army of evil. There are few stories/films that manage to convey such a sense scale, of tiny vs big and of the triumph of good at the end. -
MCT:December 1, 2008
second favorite movie in the world. I'm gonig to marry Viggo Mortensen someday lol. But yeah, the story, the cinematography and the acting were all superb.
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MCT:December 1, 2008
Predobar film, barem za mene. Cijela trilogija mi je zakon, Jackson je super ekranizirao jednu od najboljih knjiga koje sam ikada čitala.
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MCT:December 1, 2008I don't actually know whether I've seen this movie, because I always fall asleep in The Lord of the Rings movies, but I dig the effects
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MCT:December 1, 2008Not only my best Flixs friend Timothy Durbin (Timmy) solely like and recommend this movie... This is a masterpiece and a work of pure ART... I would definitely treasure this one and include this to my huge collections of great movies... I'm done seeing its part 2 and part 3... SO if U haven't seen this movie, NOT TOO late actually, follow Frodo's gang and see how they wrestle good over bad...!!!
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MCT:November 29, 2008
I'D WATCH 3 PARTS OF THE MOVIE,THRICE OF THE MOVIES ARE SUPERB,HERO OF THE MOVIE LOOKS SO SMART,FINALLY TREES ARE TOOK PART IN THE WAR.ITS TOO GREAT IN THE MOIE
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MCT:November 29, 2008Awesome action scenes, but too damned long and also the ending is probably the most obvious thing on the planet.
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MCT:November 29, 2008Bought it.Seen it.Not it.Sorry but 'Lord of the Rings' wasn't my thing.What I love about it was Dumbledore was in it.What I hate about it was it was too many fantasies.Hello?Where's the comedy?=.='''
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MCT:November 28, 2008I found this movie fairly poor. It's too much fantasy and not enough real life. I like the story-line and the way the characters are set out, and how they are all sperated, but the graphics and special effects could improve a bit.
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MCT:November 27, 2008
,,frodo: no, sam. i can' t recall the taste of food... nor the sound of water... nor the touch of grass. i' m... naked in the dark. there' s... there' s nothing. no veil between me and the wheel of fire. i can see him... with my waking eyes."
gondor is overrun by the orcs of mordor and gandalf rides to minas tirith to aid the humans in the war that is ahead. aragorn must realize his true identity, purpose as the king of men and journey with gimli and legolas to summon the army of the dead. meanwhile, suspicion rises between frodo, sam and gollum as they continue their dark and dangerous travel. the closer frodo gets to his final destination, the heavier his burden becomes... the best one, a brilliant film that leaves you speechless!
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MCT:November 27, 2008
i loved the books. and this film was a bit disappointing to me, because they missed a vital bit at the end of the books, when the hobbits go back home. but apart from that, good
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en particular no m gusta muxo las peliculas como de magia y misterios...peor si la vi y no estuvo mal
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MCT:November 27, 2008
AWESOME! But you have to sit down and watch all three of the movies together, In a row with no breaks.
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MCT:November 27, 2008
Peter Jackson is a true gift to moviedom. A gifted filmmaker, he is a film LOVER first and foremost. His epic telling of the Tolkein book is something that basically demanded to be seen on the big screen. If you've only seen these films on video, you are really missing out. Epic in every sense of the word, it contains images not seen often in movies. Landscapes and battles on such a large scale, it's amazing that Jackson was able to pull it off in the manner that he did. That being said, this first chapter in the LOTR trilogy is nonetheless a little slow to get started. There are so many characters and side stories, that establishing them all takes a lot more film time than I think is necessary. None of the characters is uninteresting, but some of them are unnecessary. But still, it's an achievement in filmmaking that leaves A LOT to be admired.
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MCT:November 26, 2008
Grander in scale than the first two installments of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Return of the King hosts even more amazing action scenes than the earth-shaking battle of Helm's Deep in The Two Towers. But what really sets it apart from most action and fantasy films is its ability to simultaneously focus on the emotional and the epic. Frodo and Sam's journey to destroy the One Ring in the fires of Mount Doom, gains all of its weight from the friendship, love, and mutual respect shared by the two hobbits and evidenced in the bonds forged between the Fellowship members earlier in the trilogy. All of the events in the prior two films have been leading up to the conclusions in this one, and the many climaxes do not disappoint. The extended DVD edition of the film, which adds almost an hour more to the runtime smoothes over the many cherished elements of the novel missing or altered. The Return of the King has retained the spirit of the book, and characters are wonderfully portrayed by the film's ensemble cast. Andy Serkis brilliantly takes Gollum on a downward spiral of greed, deception, and madness, and the CGI character animators have brought even more life to his appearance this time around. Elijah Wood is equally impressive in his portrayal of Frodo's deterioration, and Sean Astin, as his loyal friend and servant Sam, is heartbreakingly noble, becoming, in a way, the heart of the film. Ian McKellen, as Gandalf, continues his admirable portrayal of the wise wizard, while Billy Boyd adds depth to the newly courageous Pippin. Miranda Otto, as Éowyn, and Bernard Hill, as Théoden, deliver some of the most profound and moving moments in the film, and Liv Tyler continues her emotional portrayal of the conflicted elf Arwen. As the demented steward Denethor, John Noble brings added intensity and drama to the proceedings, and David Wenham is wonderfully subtle as his long-suffering son Faramir. But accolades must go to all involved in the making of this trilogy; it is continually impressive, from its breathtaking cinematography to its jaw-dropping special effects to its brilliant and heartfelt score. Overall, Peter Jackson has orchestrated this trilogy masterfully, and was certainly deserving of the Best Director Oscar he received. The Return of the King made history in many ways, but one of the most telling is that it became the first fantasy film to take home the Oscar for Best Picture. Surely, a large determining factor for that accomplishment was the authenticity with which the filmmakers told this story. The passion, detail, dedication, skill, and hard work that went into these films is clearly evident, and is not likely to be equaled any time soon.
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MCT:November 26, 2008
this is another movie that the rest of movies writer have to learn from , its not all about the watching alone but talk of the powerfull script and best costums that make the movie outstading
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MCT:November 25, 2008
i love orlando blo0m!!!but tht's not the only reason why i like to watch this movie,,actually,, i like the determination n courage of the warriors .. u'll sure love it!!
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MCT:November 25, 2008
something about these drawn out movies that compels me to watch through to the end and i do like it.
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MCT:November 25, 2008Sauron's forces have laid siege to Minas Tirith, the capital of Gondor, in their efforts to eliminate the race of men. The once-great kingdom, watched over by a fading steward, has never been in more desperate need of its king. But can Aragorn answer the call of his heritage and become what he was born to be? In no small measure, the fate of Middle-earth rests on his broad shoulders. With the final battle joined and the legions of darkness gathering, Gandalf urgently tries to rally Gondor's broken army to action. He is aided by Rohan's King Theoden, who unites his warriors for history's biggest test. Yet even with their courage and passionate loyalty, the forces of men--with Eowyn and Merry hidden among them--are no match for the enemies swarming against Gondor. Still, in the face of great losses, they charge forward into the battle of their lifetimes, tied together by their singular goal to keep Sauron distracted and give the Ring Bearer a chance to complete his quest. Their hopes rest with Frodo, a tiny but determined hobbit making a perilous trip across treacherous enemy lands to cast the One Ring into the fires of Mount Doom. The closer Frodo gets to his final destination, the heavier his burden becomes and the more he must rely on Samwise Gamgee. Gollum--and the Ring itself--will test Frodo's allegiances and, ultimately, his humanity.
