MOVIE REVIEW
'Return of the King' fitting end to best movie trilogy ever made
By Jack Garner
Gannett News Service
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THE RETURN OF THE KING (PG-13) Four Stars (Excellent) |
And the incredibly high standard set by filmmaker Peter Jackson in "The Fellowship of the Ring" (2001) and "The Two Towers" (2002) is maintained in "The Return of the King." In the final three-and-a-half-hour segment, the most unassuming of creatures — a hobbit — must return the bewitching, evil ring to its molten source and save the universe.
Taken together, the three "Lord of the Ring" films form a cohesive masterwork — an epic trilogy that should long stand as the cinema's definitive adaptation of the works of J.R.R. Tolkien. Now that the enormous enterprise has been so impressively completed, a best picture Academy Award seems the only fair response. The Tolkien trilogy needed a filmmaker of Jackson's endurance and passion to make its way to the screen. Also essential were the myriad technological advances of the new millennium that enable us to see walking and talking trees, 10,000-strong armies, 100-foot tall elephants and flying dragons the size of Lear jets.
Like part two, the third chapter hits the ground running. (It makes no sense to watch "The Return of the King" if you haven't seen the first two films. Why would you want to?)
The dark, zombie-like army of Saruman (Christopher Lee), which was defeated at Helm's Deep at the end of "The Two Towers," is reforming for an even more horrific battle at the white-towered city of Minas Tirith. The heroic Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen) and the wise Gandalf (Ian McKellen) prepare the undermanned forces of good to make a stand. They know they must hold out long enough to distract the evil forces from finding and stopping Frodo the hobbit (Elijah Wood) from his all-important mission.
In the central odyssey of the saga, Frodo is carrying a ring whose seductive powers can destroy all living things. He must take it to the volcanic Mount Doom where it was originally forged. The ring can only be destroyed by being thrown into the same fires. Traveling with Frodo is his amiable, workhorse hobbit friend, Sam (Sean Astin) and the strange, misshapen Gollum (Andy Serkis, wondrously altered by computer-generated special effects).
A former hobbit, Gollum has been turned grotesque by his lust for the ring. He's an essential guide for Frodo across the rugged landscape — but he's not to be trusted, as his dark, dual personality clearly attests. (In the flashback, which opens "The Return of the King," we witness Gollum's previous life as a hobbit and the murderous act that turned him into Gollum. It's a nice bit of storytelling, as well as a rare opportunity to see the talented Serkis at work without the weird manipulations of special effects.) "The Return of the King" features all the qualities we've come to expect after the first two films — riveting battle sequences influenced by the Samurai epics of Akira Kurosawa, believably rendered elves, dwarves and other creatures of fantasy, and surprising clarity (given the complex density of the source material).
More importantly, Jackson underscores the deep emotional aspects of the story, as well as Tolkien's struggle to create a mythic metaphor for man's search for sanity in the wake of World War II. "The Lord of the Rings" may sing the praises of kings and wizards, but it champions the courage, brotherhood and dignity of the common man (even if he is a hobbit).
Rated PG-13, with strong battle violence.
