The Return of the King

release year: 2003
genre: fantasy
viewing setting: theater, 12/23/03

synopsis: The War of the Ring nears its end, as armies fight for the future of the world and the ring-bearer nears his goal.

impressions: Long, sometimes slow, but very good. The slow stuff is necessary to make this a faithful adaption of the books. The big battles are, again, awesome - there are men, orcs, trolls, ancient elephants, fire, arrows, swords, catapults. There's also treachery and stupidity, as some men can't put aside their own problems to fight for the freedom of their world. The other plot thread involves Frodo, Sam, and Gollum taking the ring to Mount Doom so it can finally be destroyed. I know the books had this too, but for crying out loud, couldn't the smartest and wisest minds of Middle-Earth picked a stronger, sturdier person to carry the ring? I guess that's the point, though: even the smallest, weakest individual has it in them to be a hero.

things to watch for: The big battle for Gondor.

acting: Outstanding. I won't rehash what I said in the reviews of the first two movies, though I will mention that Christopher Lee as Saruman didn't make a single appearance here...why?

final word: Fitting finale to an epic trilogy. Hats off to Peter Jackson, the cast, and the crew.

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