Star wars was a series for the ages, universally hailed as the greatest trilogy of all time. However, a very big problem came into cinema during the mid 1990's to the early 2000's: Film just sucked. For the most part, cinematic entertainment took a nosedive during this period of about ten years, and the majority of films were forgettable, and very few were genuinely good. I can think of very few that had real staying power.
Then came a new trilogy, one that would easily rival the original Star Wars trilogy as the greatest film trilogy ever, and was universally hailed as a masterpiece of filmmaking. The Lord of the Rings came into the picture, and utterly dominated the world of motion pictures during its reign. So ladies and gentlemen, I give you Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King!
The Plot: War is on the horizon in Middle Earth. Though the race of Men scored a victory at Helm's Deep, Sauron's forces are on the move, and intent on destroying the free world. In a freak incident, Gandalf and the others are given a glimpse into the plans of the enemy, and realize he intends to besiege Minas Tirith, the capital of Gondor, and home of the king. Rohan, along with Aragorn and the remaining Fellowship, go to the aid of the great city, and take part of the battle that will decide the fate of Middle Earth. But deep in the enemy's territory, Frodo, Sam and Gollum move closer to Mount Doom, and the end of Sauron once and for all...
The Cast: Elijah Wood as Frodo Baggins
Ian McKellen as Gandalf the White
Liv Tyler as Arwen
Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn
Sean Astin as Samwise Gamgee
Cate Blanchet as Galadriel
John Rhys-Davies as Gimli
Bernard Hill as Théoden
Billy Boyd as Peregrin Took
Dominic Monaghan as Meriadoc Brandybuck
Orlando Bloom as Legolas
Hugo Weaving as Elrond
Miranda Otto as Eowyn
David Wenham as Faramir
Andy Serkis as Gollum/Smeagol
The Review: The opening scene is kind of bizzare, but shows the incredible power the ring has over people. It's more or less rather creepy.
The CGI was amazing for its time, and still looks pretty good now.
The film has a quick, witty humor that stops the film from being too grim.
The extra scenes in the extended edition aren't unnecessary, and add good stuff to the film.
The attempted redemption of Saruman and Grima is interesting, and is good symbolism of people's choices when it comes to redemption.
A lot of the film -and much of the series in general- contains a great deal of Christian symbolism. Many a scene could contain a double meaning if one takes a little time to mull it over.
The acting, as always during this trilogy, is among the best of the postmodern era (1989-present) of cinema. LOTR was a game-changer when it came to film epics.
The music during the entire series has been excellent, and this film is no exception. In fact, its probably the best of the trilogy, and some of the best of all time. Howard Shore is a master of his craft.
Merry and Pippin's growth as characters is most apparent in this film, Pippin in particular. Though they are the film's primary source of comedic relief, they have a deeper seriousness about them.
As usual, Gollum's split-personality is unbelievably creepy, and far too close to reality than many would like to admit. Even if one doesn't have split-personality disorder, the parallels of a dark and light side of a man is apparent.
Frodo and Sam's disagreement over Gollum's treachery. The more Frodo relies on Gollum instead of his longtime friend, the worse his condition becomes. To my mind, its very much a symbolism for sin, as Gollum's lies promise help and better times, but only lead to ruin.
The plot is fairly straightforward, as it is just a continuation of the running plot of the entire series. But does that mean its bad? Heck no, this is the epic chapter we've been waiting for!
Théoden is much improved over Two Towers, as he's nowhere near as depressed and weak-willed. In this film he portrays far more confidence and strength, and shows himself as a real ruler.
LOTR will make you want to visit New Zealand very badly. MAN, this place was beautiful!
The meeting with Denethor begins Pippin's arc as a character, and defines the change in his personality.
The film has the greatest amount of differing viewpoints, four actually at one point. That the film achieves a balance between them is incredible.
The sets used in the film are among the best of all time, and they sport an incredible amount of detail. It simply astounds me just how well-done they are.
The dialogue is very fluid, with the perfect mix of modern and archaic dialects to achieve a good balance.
The special effects in the film, as usual, are solid as can be. Filmmakers should take note on how they made it all work.
The Orc suits and such are astounding, and look far more lifelike than much of today's CGI.
On a fanboy note, my brother and I always liked Boromir, even though he was kind of tragic. Faramir is even more awesome.
The camerawork when it comes to the action scenes is well-executed, and the intensity is easily evident. More proof that a simple shot will always overcome a more cutting-edge one.
Merry's decision to join in war is the final arc of his growth as a character, which started back in Two Towers. Once a troublemaker, his realization of what has to be done to keep the Shire safe has come full circle.
The Nazgul deserve particular mention out of the enemies due to their utter efficiency and brutality as warfighters. When such an enemy takes a great deal of manpower to down, they should be mentioned.
Denethor, out of all the villains in the LOTR series, is the one I loathe most. Disgusting man, a weak-willed steward, and a horribly pitiful father. Madness consumes him because of the darkness in his heart. Good riddance to bad rubbish.
Above Aragon, more than Legolas more than anyone, Sam is the freaking bomb. Favorite character of the LOTR series and one of my favorite movie heroes.
The film has a great sense of despair about it, as the heroes of Middle Earth are on the edge of utter defeat. Faramir's sacrifice is probably the greatest example of this.
Eowen's tragic story is a unique one, and memorable for reasons I'm not even certain of. Something about her is resonant, but is beyond my range or depth at the moment and I'm not sure why.
The scope of this film is the biggest of any film I've ever seen, and perhaps of any film ever. Hundreds upon thousands of enemies and soldiers, all in for a titanic battle.
The Army of the Dead is pretty creepy. If I need an army, I'd take these guys.
Aragorn's arc, like all of the characters in this film, is finally finished in this film, as he goes from ranger to king, fulfilling his destiny. His was probably the most exciting to watch, as his had more style and action than the others.
I gotta admit, I love it when Gandalf beats the crap out of Denethor.
Shelob, along with her entire lair, is rather intense and scary. I'm not arachnophobic, but a spider that size would send me into hysterics.
The Sam vs Shelob fight was one that lived up to the hype. Unlike the hype many of Star Wars' lightsaber fights were surrounded by, this one manages to be satisfying.
Rohan's great charge. So many of the battle scenes were just awe-inspiring.
And as if to cap off that fact, the Haradrim. This movie holds nothing back in terms of the battle's scale.
Man, Eowyn is pretty hardcore. Taking down a Nazgul's steed and killing the Witch King is pretty remarkable.
As if we needed more awesome moments in this movie, does anything really top Legolas taking down an entire Mumakil and its crew?
Good grief, The Mouth of Sauron is disgusting beyond belief! Just looking at him is intolerable.
The final moments of The War of the Ring are just... the movie's been around ten years and it still sends chills up my spine.
There are never enough reasons to hate Gollum.
In this movie, somehow, all bad things that could happen end up happening. Think about it; just when the Ring could be destroyed -Frodo loses it.
The Ring's sitting on the lava...come on, be destroyed already... almost... The Ring finally melts away. Cue freak out moment.
Unlike a lot of movies that end once the climax is over, this film keeps going for quite a while after the final battle, giving a neat glimpse into the lives of our heroes after their journeys.
The film, at least in the Extended Edition, explore the effects of war on a person. We see rather clearly how the Hobbits, Frodo in particular, are unsure of how to start living after their experiences. Seeing as Tolkien was a veteran of WWI, this makes sense.
The film ends on the perfect note, with the end of the Fellowship and the departure of Gandalf and Frodo. The journey is over.
The Bottom Line: The LOTR trilogy lasted for only three years, but during those years it dominated the world unlike anything I've ever encountered in cinematic history. Think back to this time: everyone, and I mean EVERYONE talked about Lord of the Rings... all the time. Even now, ten years later, the films are still discussed as among the best in history, and many call it the greatest trilogy ever.
What are my thoughts? Honestly, I really don't know. The original Star Wars trilogy and the LOTR trilogy are equally brilliant in their own right, but may be too different to perform a comparison.
But back to Lord of the Rings. What these films were able to do was a triumphant piece of cinematic genius, boasting incredible shots, beautiful special effects, brilliant music, and an epic story full of heroes and villains, and unforgettable friendships that brought unlikely individuals through even the darkest hours, bringing them through in a masterpiece. No matter how far we go into the future of cinema, the Lord of the Rings will always remain.
Well, that's it for this review, people, and this marks the end of the Bottom 10. Coming up next are the Top 5, the very best of cinema. These films are enduring brilliance, the best I've ever seen, and it will take an incredible film to push these films down the list. And at the top of that list is the one, the greatest film ever made. See you Wednesday, when we start the beginning of the end.
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