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The Return of the King

Starring: Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Ian McKellen, Viggo Mortensen, John Rhys-Davies, Christopher Lee, Orlando Bloom, Hugo Weaving, Dominic Monaghan, Billy Boyd, Bernard Hill, Liv Tyler, Miranda Otto
Director: Peter Jackson

Reviewed by Kevin Cunningham

The Return Of The King: A Fitting Finale
As Peter Jacksonís masterpiece comes to a close, only one question remains: How and Where will this film rank with the all-time greatest?

The world is changed.

Two years ago, these words were spoken to begin an ambitious, controversial new journey in cinema. The courage of the filmmakers, producers and performers, rivaled that of the characters in the story. $300 million had been sunk into the production of three films, each one longer than a normal movie, all to be produced at once without the benefit to see how the first one would do before moving on.

Two years later, those words have proven prophetic. The world has indeed changed. With the release of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, the world of cinema will never be the same.

There is not much to be said about TROTK that has not been said about the other two films. After last year, no one could agree upon which movie was better, The Fellowship of the Ring or The Two Towers. For those that wish to debate such things, TROTK will only make the battle more heated. But it is pointless.

Unlike the two other film properties that concluded their own trilogies this year, TROTK can not and should not be judged standing alone. As with the characters in the film, the films of TROTK must stand together. Unlike The Matrix, which simply spawned a very long (and disappointing) sequel, or the Terminator, which was three very separate stories, LOTR had three chapters to what was truly one story. On television, a mini-series is judged in it's entirety, and despite the year waits between parts, LOTR must be treated similarly.

Worry not, though. The final chapter of this film is more than up to the reputations of it's predecessors. It does not take us long to be reacquainted with the central figures. Barring one peek into the past of Smeagol, it picks up right where the (extended) version of TTT left off, and moves right back into the story. This seamless reintegration into the world of Middle Earth borders on kidnapping, and it's like you never left the theater whenever you saw the previous film.

Director Peter Jackson and the cast of the films have proven so adept and so familiar with their roles and jobs that I came into this film with no trepidation. I was completely certain that they would deliver unto the audience a film worthy of our investment. The only worry I had was concerning the size of the investment. At 3 hours, 28 minutes and 50 seconds, the 'edited' version of TROTK was longer than either 'extended' version of the previous two films.

My worries were allayed when, in a natural story break came, I peeked at my watch, and found out the movies was already over an hour and a half in. I seriously thought it had been only 45 minutes up to that point. And what's more, even though an entire normal film could have elapsed in such time, I was eager for what was to come.

You need not be told what is to come. If you have read the books, you know, for the most part. If you have not, you don't really need to be told. The film delivers. Period. Watching the film, I was reminded of images, emotions and moments of some of my favorite movies past. The Lion King. Braveheart. Star Wars. Citizen Kane. Saving Private Ryan. The Shawshank Redemption. It wasn't that Jackson or anyone else ripped off, or gave tribute to any of these films. The symbols used were simply universal. There were scenes I watched and I could not help but pump a fist, or cheer. That was shared by much of the audience. There were several parts which led me to shed a tear or two. And at the end credits (which are worth watching), I did something I have never done for any film I have watched before: I stood and clapped. It didn't matter that there were none of the creators behind the film to see that, the product truly deserved it.

Though people will be awed by the special effects, and the acting performances, or maybe even such details as the editing, lighting or cinematography (all worthy of high (Oscar) praise), it is still the story that makes LOTR great. People may twist it slightly, or have different views on it, but that is how things are. People will always see in them what they want to see. It's not hard to see how the film could be used as a metaphor to support or attack the political movements of the day. That would be a waste of the film. The heart of the story is universal, and evokes a simple emotion that I believe we all crave in some way: hope. Every character's journey throughout the story somehow centers on it. It is about never giving up hope, and believing that you can make a difference, no matter how big or small. No matter what your goal in life, that is perhaps the most essential quality you must possess, and that is what makes this story to universal.

The only question now is about the repercussions this unprecedented film's success will have on the industry in the 21st century. Already, this collection of film is considered one of the top movies of all time, and rightfully so. But it has broken several commonly held beliefs that may be further challenged in the future, by worthy and not-so-worthy films. It's shown that the American attention span has not been reduced to a music video on TRL; audiences throughout the country have devoted the time at each sitting to watch these films. Though not everyone in the country has been able to sit through it, enough have to make this series an unqualified success at only 2/3rds done. It's also shown that for what is truly one unified story (rather than several self-contained stories like other franchises, like Harry Potter and X-Men), an audience is willing to wait even a year between chapters (something the producers of The Matrix would have done well to known: the third film felt very rushed).

And it's also shown that when huge risks are taken and pay off, they pay off in the biggest way imaginable.

This may eventually pave the way for very unworthy films to try a similar path. All they may do is teach us that when the huge risks don't pay off, they hurt in ways never seen, but they will come now that the path has been blazed.

But all that will come in the future. For now, sit back and enjoy watching an art form transform in front of you. Refresh yourself with the previous chapters, if you wish (I recommend finding the extended versions of each on DVD). But find a way to enjoy this film. And as you enjoy all 270 minutes of it, remember something:

There's an hour's worth that was cut, which will be vying for a spot on Return of the King: The Extended Version next year.

Rating: (4 out of 4 stars)

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