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December 17, 2003
By Veronica Mixon .
Major kudos must be paid to director
Peter Jackson who never stumbles as
he finishes the epic tale of good vs.
evil in the Lord of the
Rings: Return of the King
trilogy. This is a sweeping majestic
fantasy of war, heroism and breathtaking
visual beauty.
Without skipping a beat, Jackson picks
up the action where The Two Towers
ends as the ring-bearing Hobbit Frodo
(Elijah Wood) and his loyal best friend
Sam (Sean Astin) climb the dangerous
terrain toward Mount Doom with the lest-than-trustworthy
Gollum (portrayed by digital magic and
voiced by Andy Serkis). We learn about
Gollum's former life as a man and how
the ring destroyed his happiness. Meanwhile,
the warriors of Rohan and their king
Théoden (Bernard Hill) team up
with the charismatic Aragorn (Viggo
Mortensen), the archer-elf Legolas (Orlando
Bloom), and the hearty dwarf Gimli (John
Rhys-Davies). They are pumping up every
ounce of courage, at the urging of the
wizard Gandalf (Ian McKellen), to take
a desperate stand against the monstrous
orcs who fight on behalf of the evil
Sauron. Human fears like despair, sadness,
rage and madness consume every warrior
especially when faced with flying dragons,
mammoth elephants and demonic opponents.
The Lord of the Rings: The
Return of the King isn't
a perfect movie. It's very, very long
at three and one half hours. While the
hobbits - Wood, Austin, Dominic Monaghan
(who plays Merry) and Billy Boyd (as
Pippin) -- take center stage along with
Gandalf, Saruman (Christopher Lee) completely
disappears without explanation. Further,
the gallant warriors Legolas and Gimli
are benched! Wow! I couldn't believe
it especially after they were major
action fighters in The Two Towers.
Another major flaw is the lack of romance.
The only emotion that is missing in
third episode of the trilogy is love
and that is a true pity. Théoden's
niece, Éowyn (Miranda Otto) buries
her feelings for Aragorn while Arwen
(Liv Tyler) relinquishes her immortality
and begs her father Elrond (Hugo Weaving)
for understanding as she pushes to realize
her life with her beloved Aragorn. The
picture needs the romantic elements
and the lyrical magic of Tyler and Cate
Blanchette. Considering the length,
Jackson should have put this element
in.
Nevertheless, New Line was smart and
courageous when they signed Peter Jackson
and the cast for all three films. The
actors add shades of depth to characters
they've had ample time to develop and
Jackson's direction is superb as the
film provides non-stop adventurous action.
There is even a slight homage to the
"Star Wars" not only with
the gigantic elephants as killing machines
and when Aragorn ventures into the dark
cavern in search of an army of the dead.
The film leaps from one exciting interlude
to the next. Jackson's tireless work
(seen on the extended DVD versions of
his previous films) pays off. The
Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
is a stupendous achievement.
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