The Lord of the Rings.... It finally ended. In a matter of three years, a trilogy that has been murmured in the same terms as Star Wars has captivated fans of the films and newbies to the whole Middle-Earth idea alike. However, not everyone is able to fall in love with these movies like I and many others have. But, with that said, I think my review is of someone who has an appreciation for this sort of movie and of someone who has actually seen the first two (or have read them) and knows what is going on. So, without further adieu, my thoughts on one of my favorite films ever...
Story: Most movies in a series tend to go from good to worse as things progress. For example, Pirates of the Caribbean, Matrix, Star Wars, etc. This is mainly due to milking the cash cow from the studio's own greediness. However, since this is based off books, fans were lucky enough that this trilogy is mainly what they'll ever get. Now, after Saruman was defeated at Helms Deep with the help of Gandalf, the elves, and the people of Rohan, Aragorn, the King of Rohan, Gandalf, and all the rest of the fellowship (excluding Sam and Frodo) set out to now face a more fierce and smarter opponent, Sauron. Of course, it's much more complex than that. Pippin, after finding the crystal ball thing that Saruman used to talk to Sauron, finds out where Sauron will strike. With the information of Gondor being attacked at Minas Tirith, thus ending mainly the dominion of men, Gandalf and Pippin set out to warn the Steward of Gondor to get ready for an attack. However, the steward says he has already foreseen it and knows it will be the end of men, so pretty much, he hasn't done anything to prepare for battle. Back in Rohan, Aragorn convinces the King of Rohan to aid Gondor against Sauron and all his forces to make sure that the race of men won't be wiped out. Of course, Aragorn does convince him, but during their march to Minas Tirith, he and his co. are swept into the mountain to get a secret force to help these pirates that have been sent in late to help defeat Gondor once and for all. On the other side, Sam and Frodo are trying to make it to Mt. Doom with evil ol' Gollum/Smeagol, who starts to conceive of a plan to take them through these tunnels where they'll be ambushed by a freakingly huge spider queen called Shelob. With overhearing such plans, Sam tries to warn Frodo of the imminent danger, but with Gollum corrupting Frodo against Sam, this is ill faited. Upon all these separate stories, there are also sub plots involving more secondary characters and their roles. Plus, with lots of character development with the help of good directing, the story is told beautifully. All in all, this is a faithful book to screen translation and is definitely one of the best climaxes ever witnessed in moviemaking yet. 5/5
Editing and Direction: If there's any problem with this film, it's that it is a little on the slow side towards the end and the beginning. Of course, with three and a half hours, you do get your share of a great conclusion to one of the greatest book and film franchises ever. Towards the beginning, the movie does do a little bit of too much setting up for the awesome climax and resolution, involving scenes that seemed a little too stretched out and could have been easily trimmed some. Plus, the major battles end a little shorter than the great Helms Deep battle, even though this one was meant to be 2x the scale and epicness that we've seen. However, the directing is really quite stunning in any standpoint, especially when noticing the scale and size of such a movie. Seriously, if I had to pick my favorite director, it'd be Peter Jackson from this franchise alone. He does such a wonderful job of making sure that people who've read the books get the same overall experience while newbies to the series and have only seen the movies are one with the essence that the movie gives. I seriously can't say anymore than both are done very well. However, with an ending that takes a little to long to resolve and a beginning that does a little too much of setting up the end, it feels like it could've been tweaked a little more. 4.5/5
Acting: I'm really nitpicky when it comes to acting. Seriously, if there is even one scene where I feel the acting was even a little lacking, I will doubt the actor's performance. This movie, however, does an amazing job by such a wonderful cast. Aragorn is played the way he always was, but now, he seems a little more accepting the throne than he used to be. It seems as though that he is still a little weary of such a position, but through the movie, he does a good job of evolving with the circumstances he is put through. Frodo and Sam are probably the heavy weights performance wise. They are really quite believable and are really a spectacle to watch. I really wish there would've been a supporting actor nominee for Sam, but I guess the Academy wasn't ready to give a movie 12 oscars just yet. Anyway, they are a lot of great emotional scenes that are done spot on between the two... oh, and don't let me forget, Andy Serkis does one of the most memorable performance just as good. His Gollum character is seen more than Smeagol was in Two Towers and he plays this mind set extremely well. All in all, the acting is really A+ work. Sure, there is a 1-2 minute point where Pippin acts a little on the cheesy side, but I can't help but overlook this small blemmish when such a huge movie is acted so well. 5/5
No doubt, this is the best installment of the trilogy. With the most involved story and easily the best climax I've seen yet in any movie, this is a crowning achievement by Peter Jackson and crew. If you haven't seen this yet, you better see the first two soon, since this is truly a 5 star film!
