MOVIE - THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING - Review Rating $$$$$ $$$1/2 (OUT OF 10)

A TOP 10 MOVIES OF 2003 SELECTION

STARRING - Elijah Wood (Frodo), Sir Ian McKellen (Gandolf), Sean Astin (Sam Gamgee), Sala Baker, Cate Blanchett (Galadriel), Orlando Bloom (Legolas), Billy Boyd (Pippin Took), Martin Csokas, Brad Dourif (Grima Wormtongue), Bernard Hill (Theoden), Christopher Lee (Saruman), Dominic Monaghan, Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn), Miranda Otto, John Rhys-Davies, Andy Serkis (Gollum/Smeagol), Liv Tyler (Arwen Undomiel), Karl Urban, Hugo Weaving & David Wenham.

DIRECTOR - Peter Jackson (Heavenly Creatures, The Frighteners, Dead/Alive)

The third and final film in the trilogy based on the Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien.

There is very little I can add to what has already been said about the magnificence of Peter Jackson's big screen adaptation of this timeless morality tale. The Star Wars and The Matrix (The Matrix Reloaded, The Matrix Revolutions) franchises pale in comparison. That being said this third installment is not without its flaws.

It almost goes without saying that there's no point in watching the third installment if you haven't seen the first two films. I read the trilogy between the release of 1st and 2nd films in the series and it still took me a few minutes to clue back into the vast network of characters and story lines. Anyone who hadn't seen the first two films or read the books would be hopelessly lost.

There are three other problems with the final installment. First, despite a large audience being almost perfectly hushed it was a strain at times to hear some of the early, nearly whispered dialogue. This was more a distraction than an outright flaw but considering the importance of the spoken word in this series it was unfortunate to say the least.

Secondly, and this echoes a complaint made by Roger Ebert in his review of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, this final installment spends too much time on lengthy battle scenes and not enough time on the heart of the story. In this respect Jackson falls into the same trap that the Wachowski brothers fell into in The Matrix Revolutions. Indeed, in an epic noted for its adherence to the original literary work, whole sections of the original story have been deleted.

The most notable is the dropping of the Hobbits journey back to the Shire. The Hobbits, in the book, discover that while the clouds of darkness have lifted the world is a different place for having been to the dark side and back again. No doubt the length of this final installment dictated this choice to some extent but this is an underlying theme of the original literary work and the short shrift given to it significantly lessens the film's impact.

The third problem with The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is its 200 minute length. That's 3 hours and 20 minutes and there hasn't been a movie made yet that can sustain its intensity, and your interest, for that period of time. The movie is so long that I found myself secretly wishing it would end much sooner than I knew it would. The length of this final installment takes almost all the pleasure out of watching The Return of the King. My first and lasting impression of this final chapter is that its just too long. I'm sure that is not what Jackson intended but that is what many will remember most.

Adding insult to injury the theater I watched the film in didn't have the common sense to eliminate the 15 minutes of commercials and previews prior to the film.

The scuttlebutt in Hollywood is that Oscar would recognize the trilogy with best movie/director honors after the release of the final installment. The merit of this method of recognition is debatable but The Lord of the Rings is fortunate in that there isn't really another movie in 2003 that stands out as being more deserving.

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is a wonderful morality tale masterfully brought to the big screen. However, the length of this final installment will make you wish good triumphed over evil much sooner.

Running time - 200 minutes

Check out my WORST MOVIES OF 2003 list.

Alternative Reviews:

Roger Ebert's Review

Peter Travers / Rolling Stone Review

Rotten Tomatoes Reviews

The Lord Of The Rings Official Web Site

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