The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King picks up exactly where the second one left off. Frodo (Elijah Wood) and his loyal partner Sam (Sean Astin) travel deeper into Mordor in hopes of reaching Mount Doom to be able to destroy The Ring, in an unstable alliance with the beleaguered Gollum (Andy Serkis). Sam’s distrust for the creature strengthens, causing Frodo to choose whether to keep Gollum or believe in his friend’s instincts. The orcs, fighting on behalf of the evil Lord Sauron, haven’t given up after the classic battle at Helm’s Deep. They attack Minas Tirith in their attempt to eradicate the human race. Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen), revealed to be Gondor’s rightful king, with the help of Rohan’s king Theoden (Bernard Hill), wizard Gandalf (Ian McKellen), elf archer Legolas (Orlando Bloom), spunky dwarf Gimli (John Rhys-Davies) and the rest of the fellowship are determined to save the ancient city from Sauron’s powerful clutches.
Director Peter Jackson, who also penned the script with Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens, adapts Tolkien’s final chapter into an extraordinary cinematic masterpiece, still exceeding the greatness the first two films have already achieved. His narrative style is as effortless as ever, exuding the confidence needed to pull off such a feat as this picture. His characters, unlike most Hollywood epics, are given chances to develop and deepen as the human beings, elves, dwarves and hobbits that they are: relationships strengthen (or shatter) with sheer poignancy in some occasions. The Frodo-Sam-Gollum scenario, the Aragorn and Arwen (Liv Tyler, looking a lot like the Virgin Mary) love story, the endearing Merry (Dominic Monaghan) and Pippin (Billy Boyd) friendship, and my favorite LOTR character Eowyn (Miranda Otto) "pulling a Mulan," dressing up as a man and finally kicking some major ass, are all part of Jackson’s vision in creating a film larger-than-life yet not losing sight of its own soul. A vision, in fact, that doesn’t lose sight of anything considering its gigantic scale; Jackson is so meticulous and detailed that we are completely submerged into Middle-Earth, believing every single seemingly implausible issue brought up by the film. Jackson is also an amazing visual choreographer, able to direct epic battle scenes of the largest scale. He proves this during the breathtaking battle at Minas Tirith, when thousands of warriors, good and evil, are captured on sweeping panoramic shots that would just leave a person awe-stricken.
Peter Jackson has succeeded greatly in adapting this trilogy, and he finally deserves to win Best Director during the Academy Awards this February. The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King is a stunningly beautiful masterpiece of mythic grandeur; a film of majestic splendor and opulence that calling it an "epic" would be a huge understatement. Its vast visualization of the immense Middle-Earth is astounding and is certainly a feat we have never seen in cinema and something we will not probably see in some years to come. The Return Of The King is a perfect example of what American cinema was made for: put on a grand show. And not only is it the best film of 2003, and the best fantasy film of the past decade, but the first movie I have ever given this grade to.
Bottom Line: Two words – Best Picture.
Grade: A+
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