The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

"The End"
-- The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, final title card

If you are anything like me, you will likely feel sad when The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, the final film in Peter Jackson's visionary trilogy, draws to a close and these two words appear on the movie screen. What is such a testament to Jackson's talent is that, even though a full year has passed between each installment, even though you may not have seen the previous film again during that year, seeing the trilogy draw to a close is like knowing you are leaving good friends behind forever. Sure, the DVD's will be watched repeatedly over the years, but the magic of seeing the characters on the big screen will likely never be repeated.

It's a good thing, then, that The Return of the King is such an amazing motion picture, easily the superior to the first two films in the trilogy. It is the rare exception to the rule that the final film in a trilogy is hardly ever as strong as the first two. Not only the best film of 2003, it is also one of the greatest fantasy movies ever made.*

The Return of the King begins right after The Two Towers ended, with Frodo (Elijah Wood) and Sam (Sean Astin), led by the reptilian creature Gollum (Andy Serkis), are continuing their trip to Mount Doom in Mordor in order to destroy the One True Ring. Meanwhile, the wizard Gandalf (Ian McKellen), the ranger Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen), the elf Legolas (Orlando Bloom), and the dwarf Gimli (John Rhys-Davies) meet up with the hobbits Pippin (Billy Boyd) and Merry (Dominic Monaghan) after the battle at Isengard.Sauron's forces are preparing to attack the city of Minas Tirith and the forces of Rohan, led by the king Theoden (Bernard Hill), Gandalf, and Aragorn, must defend the city. Outnumbered, Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli set out to get reinforcements for the battle, while Aragorn gradually accepts his place as the rightful heir to the throne of Gondor.

If none of that makes sense to you, then watch the other two films before going to see this one, because Jackson wastes no time on a recap of previous events. Some may complain that this keeps The Return of the King from standing on its own, but it really doesn't. First of all, it's unlikely that those who haven't seen The Fellowship of the Ring or The Two Towers would be interested in seeing The Return of the King. And secondly, the film can still be enjoyed on its own merits.

The film starts slowly, as Jackson reistablishes the characters, but once the introduction is out of the way, the film builds up to its stunning climax. Keeping up with the immersiveness of the previous two chapters, for the 200 minutes of film, we are there with the heroes, in the middle of their battles. And what battles they are! If you thought the Siege of Helms Deep in The Two Towers was impressive, wait until you see the Battles of Minas Tirith and Pelennor Fields. Swarming armies of hundreds of thousands of soldiers fighting, catapults throwing flaming boulders, elephant-like creatures flinging men everywhere; these sequences are simply amazing, easily the cinematic highlight of the year.

But what has always set The Lord of the Rings apart from other epic series is that Jackson never loses sight of the humanity of his characters. The burdon Frodo carries along with the Ring is heartbreakingly displayed, as is his relationship with Sam. And speaking of Sam, his role as the real hero of the saga comes into fruition here, as he becomes the psychological support Frodo needs. Sean Astin gives a touching, award-worthy performance here, managing to display both his devotion to Frodo and his heroic strength.

The other performances in The Return of the King are of uniformly high quality. Elijah Wood is excellent as the tortured Frodo, doing quite a bit of pained acting with his eyes. Viggo Mortensen, whom I still view as a brilliant casting choice, is superbly regal. But, along with Astin, the other actor I have to single out is Ian McKellen. Gandalf is in the limelight for the majority of The Return of the King, as opposed to being shifted to the background, and McKellen plays him as a man of great strength and wisdom; when he loses his temper, it is a terrible sight to behold.

The film ends with a shot of a closing yellow door. It is a simple shot, but also a brilliant one, ending the series with simplicity and without a trace of melodrama. With this series, possibly the greatest cinematic trilogy of all time, Peter Jackson has taken us there and back again, and the experience could not have been any more fulfilling.

*Actually, I later came to the conclusion that it was not, in fact, the best movie of 2003. See my 2003 retrospective for further details. It's still one of the best individual fantasy movies ever made, though

© 2003 Matt Noller