Genres: Action | Adventure | Fantasy Countries: Germany | New Zealand | USA Actors: Viggo Mortensen Ian McKellen Elijah Wood Noel Appleby Everard Proudfoot Alexandra Astin Elanor Gamgee Sean Astin Sam David Aston Gondorian Soldier 3 John Bach Madril Sean Bean Boromir Cate Blanchett Galadriel Orlando Bloom Legolas Billy Boyd Pippin Sadwyn Brophy Eldarion Alistair Browning Damrod Marton Csokas Celeborn Richard Edge Gondorian Soldier 1 Jason Fitch Uruk 2 Bernard Hill Theoden Directors: Peter Jackson Certification: Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Brazil:12 | Canada:14 | Canada:14A | Canada:G | Denmark:11 | Finland:K-11/9 ...  show all  Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Brazil:12 | Canada:14 | Canada:14A | Canada:G | Denmark:11 | Finland:K-11/9 | Finland:K-15 | France:U | Germany:12 | Germany:16 | Greece:K-13 | Hong Kong:IIB | Hungary:14 | Iceland:12 | Ireland:12 | Israel:PG | Japan:PG-12 | Malaysia:U | Netherlands:12 | Netherlands:16 | Norway:11 | Peru:14 | Philippines:PG-13 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | UK:12 | UK:12A | USA:PG-13  hide  IMDB Rating: 8.8 out of 10 (258649 votes)

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The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King brings Peter Jackson’s mammoth adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s classic to a close in suitably epic fashion. Instead of starting just where the previous film left off, however, it goes far back in time to the moment the tormented creature Gollum first came to possess the One Ring. In this flashback, actor Andy Serkis (who voiced Gollum and performed his movements onset prior to the final CGI effects) finally gets to appear onscreen, portraying Gollum’s former self, Sméagol. This disturbing scene serves as a potent reminder that the Ring seeks to corrupt even the well-intentioned Frodo (Elijah Wood), who is increasingly struggling with the dark power of the Ring himself. Thus, the film returns to the present, following Frodo, Sam (Sean Astin), and Gollum as they journey ever closer to the foreboding land of Mordor. They pass by the terrifying dark city of Minas Morgul, watching as the dreadful army of the Witch King sets out for the human strongholds in Gondor, and move on to the rocky stairs to Cirith Ungol, where an even darker enemy lies in wait. Meanwhile, the rest of the Fellowship reunites in Rohan, having defeated the wizard Saruman on two different fronts, at Helm’s Deep and Isengard. They are not together for long, though, since the hobbit Pippin (Billy Boyd) gets into trouble, making it necessary for him and Gandalf (Ian McKellen) to hastily depart for Minas Tirith, capital of Gondor. Once there, they find the steward of Gondor, Denethor (John Noble), in an unstable mental state and the city preparing for battle against the amassing forces of Sauron. Denethor unwisely sends his only remaining son, Faramir (David Wenham), back into bloody battle to prove himself. He returns nearly dead, sending Denethor over the edge of sanity. In another realm, elf Arwen (Liv Tyler) begins her journey to immortal life in the Grey Havens, on her way to leave Middle-earth — and Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen) — forever, but has a vision that causes her to once again reconsider her decision. Back in Rohan, the men are preparing to ride to Gondor’s aide. Éowyn (Miranda Otto) desperately wants to join the men in battle, but her uncle, King Théoden (Bernard Hill), orders her to stay and defend Rohan if necessary. The hobbit Merry (Dominic Monaghan) also desires to ride with the men, but is denied due to his small size and inexperience. Aragorn is met there by the elf Elrond (Hugo Weaving), who brings him the re-forged Sword that was Broken (in the ancient battle with Sauron) and urges him to take a different route to Gondor. Heeding Elrond’s advice, Aragorn, along with elf Legolas (Orlando Bloom) and dwarf Gimli (John Rhys-Davies), takes a cavernous path through the mountains, where they meet ghoulish ghosts who betrayed Aragorn’s ancestors and are doomed to eternal unrest unless they fulfill their broken oaths by aiding him. All but Frodo, Sam, and Gollum will meet on the massive battlefield of the Pelennor before the gates of Minas Tirith. The former three instead engage in a battle of wills between each other and the One Ring as they head toward the fires of Mount Doom to destroy it. Released in December 2003, The Return of the King topped even its massively successful trilogy predecessors at the box office, and went on to garner a whopping 11 Academy Awards, including Best Picture — winning in all the categories in which it was nominated and tying the record of total awards won with Ben-Hur and Titanic.

Grander in scale, in many ways, than the first two installments of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Return of the King hosts even more amazing action scenes than the earth-shaking battle of Helm’s Deep in The Two Towers. But what really sets it apart from most action and fantasy films is its ability to simultaneously focus on the emotional and the epic. Frodo and Sam’s journey to destroy the One Ring in the fires of Mount Doom, as epic as it may be, gains all of its weight from the friendship, love, and mutual respect shared by the two hobbits and evidenced in the bonds forged between the Fellowship members earlier in the trilogy. All of the events in the prior two films have been leading up to the conclusions in this one, and the many climaxes do not disappoint. Unfortunately, with the further divergence of the characters’ paths in this installment, the filmmakers clearly struggled to keep a balance between them. The general pacing of the film is off in parts, too slow in the first hour, and too rushed later on. Many fans of the books may be frustrated by some of the decisions made in adapting the story; changes in plot and character motivations from book to screen are inevitable, but many cherished elements of the novel are missing or altered in ways that sometimes seem unneeded. Some characters, such as Legolas (Orlando Bloom), Gimli (John Rhys-Davies), Merry (Dominic Monaghan), and Éomer (Karl Urban), get pushed to the sidelines, only getting in a few lines here and there, and others, such as Éowyn (Miranda Otto), get hugely emotional scenes only to be essentially dropped from the story line for the rest of the picture. Aragorn (the king referred to in the title), though well-played by Viggo Mortensen, also misses out on characterization, with many of his most insightful moments missing from the film. Doubtlessly, some of these oversights will be smoothed over in the extended DVD edition of the film, which adds almost an hour more to the runtime.

Despite its flaws, The Return of the King has retained the most important element of the book: its spirit. Furthermore, the characters who are in the forefront of the story, as with the others, are wonderfully portrayed by the film’s ensemble cast. Andy Serkis brilliantly takes Gollum on a downward spiral of greed, deception, and madness, and the CGI character animators have brought even more life to his appearance this time around. Elijah Wood is equally impressive in his portrayal of Frodo’s deterioration, and Sean Astin, as his loyal friend and servant Sam, is heartbreakingly noble, becoming, in a way, the heart of the film. Ian McKellen, as Gandalf, continues his admirable portrayal of the wise wizard, while Billy Boyd adds depth to the newly courageous Pippin. Miranda Otto, as Éowyn, and Bernard Hill, as Théoden, deliver some of the most profound and moving moments in the film, and Liv Tyler continues her emotional portrayal of the conflicted elf Arwen. As the demented steward Denethor, John Noble brings added intensity and drama to the proceedings, and David Wenham is wonderfully subtle as his long-suffering son Faramir. But accolades must go to all involved in the making of this trilogy; it is continually impressive, from its breathtaking cinematography to its jaw-dropping special effects to its brilliant and heartfelt score. Overall, Peter Jackson has orchestrated this trilogy masterfully, and was certainly deserving of the Best Director Oscar he received. The Return of the King made history in many ways, but one of the most telling is that it became the first fantasy film to take home the Oscar for Best Picture. Surely, a large determining factor for that accomplishment was the authenticity with which the filmmakers told this story. The passion, detail, dedication, skill, and hard work that went into these films is clearly evident, and is not likely to be equaled any time soon.

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