I finally managed to check out Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King about a week ago. I enjoyed it, but decided that opinions might vary depending on how annoyed one wanted to be by Peter Jackson's straying from Tolkien's novel. For that reason, I'm going to look at it from two angles: once for the film itself, and once as an adaptation of the book. It goes without saying that there will be spoilers, so consider yourself warned.
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1) Taken strictly as the movie that caps off the trilogy, RotK is a wonderful thing to behold. It's been quite a while since I found myself so immersed in a world represented onscreen, and I know I'm not the first person to comment on how swiftly 3 1/2 hours flew by when watching this (not counting the interminable previews and "The Twenty," Edwards' Cinema's punishment for those of us with the foresight to arrive more then ten minutes before a movie starts). The film speeds along until reaching the oft-remarked upon "multiple ending stage." Even then, the emotion is real as we watch the last of the Fellowship (minus Sam, Merry, and Pippin) depart for the West. I thought Return of the King ended the series better than any other third movie has, and I'm still awed by what Peter Jackson and company managed to put up on the screen.
For starters, the Battle of the Pelennor Fields is among the most stirring action sequences ever filmed. The charge of the Rohirrim is one of those moments that makes actually slogging out to a theater to watch a movie worthwhile, ditto for the battle with the oliphaunts. These epic scenes are also interwoven with some fine acting. John Noble does an admirable (if thankless) job as Denethor, though Sean Astin is a close second. Bernard Hill (Theoden) and Miranda Otto (Eowyn) also stood out, and we also get to see a non-computer rendered Andy Serkis play Smeagol in a well-placed flashback.
I can't give the film a perfect rating, but this came damn close. Return of the King is going to be remembered in the pantheon of film epics for years to come.
So what wasn't good about it? I disliked the feeling that the audience was being rushed from scene to scene. I know there's a hell of a lot of ground to cover, but the final third or so seem terribly hurried. I also was disappointed that Viggo Mortensen allowed Aragorn to sort of shrug his way into kingship. There was never a watershed moment where we see him accepting his destiny.
And the relative overemphasis on Legalos and Gimli in The Two Towers officially gets evened out here. The two dutifully accompany Aragorn on his travels, and Legolas gets one incredible scene during the big battle (more on that later), but both he and Gimli take a back seat to Frodo and Sam's journey. Hell, John Rhys-Davies might as well have let Jackson CGI his role in from the the first two films.
What happened to Saruman? I may not agree with removing him entirely (I actually think his arc should've been wrapped up at the end of The Two Towers), but Jackson was canny enough to know that most audiences wouldn't even remember him after an hour of movie passed, and made the Isengard scene brief.
As for what was left out of the book...
2) As faithful adaptations go, I think Fellowship did the best job staying true to the book. The Two Towers bothered me with what was added (an elf regiment at Helm's Deep?) and what ws left out (No Erkenbrand? No huorns destroying the army of Saruman?). I also didn't like the "Is Aragorn dead?" jerk-around or his supposed romantic angle with Eowyn. Return also takes some pretty serious liberties with source material, some of which bugged me, others not so much.
First, is there a special edition anywhere that will remove all of the excess Arwen-Elrond BS? Why did Aragorn need Elrond to kick his ass into acting like a king? And why, after Elrond humped it out to the to Rohirrim camp to give him Anduril, didn't he stick around to fight? Why not bring another elf regiment or six? If Legolas' abilities are typical of the tribes of Mirkwood, a dozen of his kinsmen couldve eliminated the oliphaunts out without breaking a sweat or mussing their fabulous elven locks. The scene - where Legolas singlehandedly takes out the crew, driver, and finally the oliphaunt itself - was impressive from an elven ninja badass standpoint, but ridiculous otherwise. It's a good thing there won't be a fourth movie, or we could look forward to Orlando Bloom taking on Sauron mano a mano and nailing Arwen and Eowyn in a threesome. And as CGI goes, both it and the similar scene in The Two Towers weren't up to the rest of the movies' standards.
Second, Gandalf's confrontation with the Witch King at the gates of Minas Tirith should've been, like his face-off with the balrog in Fellowship, a jaw-dropping high point of the film. There was so much potential in this meet-up I can't help but think Peter Jackson left it out precisely because he was afraid of comparisons with the balrog scene. Of everything that was omitted, this bothered me the most.
At first, I admit I was a little irritated that it took so long to get to Shelob's lair (Shelob herself was wonderfully creepy, however). Because of this, and the relative length of that encounter, journey to Mt. Doom didn't seem as grueling as it actually was. We didn't get to see Sam use the ring, either. Having said that, I'm not sure what I'd do differently, since I don't know if showing the two of them conscripted into the orc squadron would've been convincing, either.
And I may not be remembering the book that well, but was the army of the dead really that bad ass? I don't recall the chapter where they zoomed up Minas Tirith like so many ghostly scrubbing bubbles, but whatever.
Things that I didn't miss: Ghan-buri-ghan and the secret Cro-mag shortcut, Prince Imrahil, or Strider's ranger posse. And again I'll express my delight that the Scouring of the Shire didn't make the cut. After defeating the Dark Lord of Mordor, seeing our hobbit pals rough up a bunch of "ruffians" before Saruman/Sharkey gets conveniently offed by Wormtongue would've been a touch anti-climactic.
I think Jackson gives the character of Faramir pretty short shrift, but if we were spared the whole chapter on the Houses of Healing, so much the better. And from the look of things during the coronation scene, he and Eowyn hooked up anyway. I'm sure this'll be addressed in the extended edition.
And who knew Minas Tirith had a helipad? That's some forward thinking, there.
Anyway, Return of the King gets 4.5 out of 5 stars on its own merits, and...oh, 2.5 as an adaptation of the book. Personally, I cared less about strict adherence to the books than I did about Jackson's ability to make a compelling series of films, and in that regard, he hit it out of the park. I want the chance to see this in the theater again, as it's one of those rare movie nowadays that really needs to big screen to be appreciated.
MST3K moments from RotK:
When the camera zooms up past the Minas Tirith helipad, I hissed "I'm KING OF THE WORLD!" It really does look like a boat prow.
When Denethor took the plunge on fire, I turned to my wife and whispered "Dude, you have some major thrill issues!" in my best Crush voice.
During the oliphaunt fight, when they flashed to the pilot, I whispered "We have the main generator in sight, Lord Vader."
I get hit in movies a lot.
I didn't recognize it as a helipad - it looked more like the Yamato.
My recollection is that the Army of the Dead really were that badass, but didn't get any screen time - Aragorn dismisses them after they overcome the corsairs. We only hear about it from Gimli and Legolas afterwards.
I do the MST-3K comment thing, too! Even to people who have no idea about that excellent series. God Bless Joel and the 'Bots.
"Ghostly scrubbing bubbles" LOL, very much how that bit came across :)
Finally saw it this afternoon myself. Going yep, yep, yep as I read your comments, too, especially on the prow of the White Tower.
The only downside to seeing the movie, which I watched back in my hometown in California, was that I bumped into an old high school flame at the theatre. With mom, dad, and pregnant wife in tow, it was more than a little awkward saying "howdy" to a chick I used to fool around with.