Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, The (2003)

Posted on Dec 22, 2003 under "Hot", Fantasy |

Directed by Peter Jackson
Written by Fran Walsh, Phillip Boyens, and Peter Jackson, based on the novel by J.R.R. Tolkien
Starring
- Elijah Wood
- Ian McKellen
- Viggo Mortensen
- Sean Astin
- Andy Serkis

How often are you wholly and fully confident in the artistic and storytelling value of an upcoming motion picture?

And how often is that confidence fully vindicated in the theater?

“You can trust me with it, I’ve got my securities license!”

I’ll dare say that there were higher expectations pinned to this movie than of any other movie. Ever. Not that they were unreasonable expectations, or quavering in their faith; after all, Peter Jackson had proven with The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers that he was, indeed, the perfect person to shepherd J.R.R. Tolkien’s massive literary achievement to the big screen. But that doesn’t mean that it was impossible for him to bungle it in Act Three. George Lucas, by way of contrast, had the world eating out of his hand after the first two Star Wars films, and in the third he decided to give us Ewoks. (You were expecting me to follow that with a Phantom Menace slam, I suppose, but I’m lucky enough to inhabit a parallel universe in which Lucas realized that, no, there was no way he could top his original trilogy, and instead he put his efforts into developing the Howard the Duck direct-to-video franchise series.)

Anyway. Third and final installment, wrapping up not only a storyline, but an entire magical era which, even if the good guys win, is over. The theme of an old world passing, so important to my love of the novel in my adult days, was brought to the fore in The Two Towers, and continues here, though not as pervasively; there’s simply too much going on to allow time for melancholy introspection. War’s a-brewing, and all of the good guys left in Middle Earth need to get together before all of the bad guys beat the snot out of them once and for all.

“‘P, E, C, F, D,’ and the bottom line says…”

But although most of the characters are involved in adventures of grand spectacle, the heart of the movie is elsewhere: with the three smallest creatures, Frodo (Elijah Wood), Sam (Sean Astin), and Gollum (Andy Serkis), working their grueling way into Mordor to destroy the One Ring and give the combined anti-Sauron forces a fighting chance. Jackson deftly paints their struggle in strong colors, positioning Sam and Gollum like the traditional angel and devil on Frodo’s shoulders. (And devoting a nice chunk of time to the giant spider attack. Hey, their side of the story can’t all be exhausted hiking…)

One of the factors working mightily in Jackson’s favor in this third installment is that the diehard audience, the Tolkien-loving audience who have memorized quotes in the Elven tongues and show up to the premieres in costume, have had enough time to accept the simple fact: He was going to change things. He HAD to change things. Heck, the original novel kept going for fifty pages AFTER the apocalyptic battle between good and evil. That worked in a novel of over a thousand pages, because the novel was really “about” the passing of the Third Age of the world, and Tolkien wanted to demonstrate just how life would never be the same even after victory. Jackson didn’t have that luxury, not just because of time considerations, but because the movie version had to tighten their narrative focus greatly: Instead of an exploration of an enchanting imaginary milieu, the movies needed to be ABOUT the quest to destroy the Ring and stave off the Dark Lord.

**I’ve been fighting the urge to make a Goonies joke for three movies now…**

But a movie can’t be ABOUT a quest, or a mission, or an event, so much as about the people who DO those things. And here is the other great narrative focus: the relationship between Frodo and Sam, as they pass through hell together. That’s why, once the Ring is destroyed (whoops, hope I didn’t spoil it too badly for you), Jackson still indulges in several more minutes that take us finally to the end of Frodo’s and Sam’s days together. Because it’s not an indulgence; it’s fully as necessary to the integrity of the story as the disposal of the Ring in Mount Doom.

Now THAT’S what I call “forced perspective”!

If I have any quibbles (and I’ll tell you upfront, they’re mere motes compared to the magnitude of what Peter Jackson has accomplished here), they are these:

1) Sam does carry the Ring for the unconscious Frodo for a short time, but he never “bears” it in the sense of wearing it, as he does in the novel. Not a great plot point, but the loss of that fact deprives Sam of a great distinction: that of being the only Ringbearer EVER to have felt and used the power of the One Ring without being corrupted or ensnared by it.

“Today, Gondor… Tomorrow, Dr. Freex!”

2) Jackson makes overabundant use of a single cinematic trick; during a tense or tragic moment, the motion on screen slows, the ambient sounds fade away, and we only hear either the isolated and echoing clangs of weapons, or a keening and mournful pseudo-Celtic musical theme. It’s an effective technique, but its effectiveness is blunted by being used seemingly a dozen times in the course of a single three-hour feature.

But when the only things you can complain about are such things as those… Truly, this movie, and the trilogy as a unit, are a cinematic masterwork of stunning achievement and impact. It’s a perfect melding of the cosmicly significant issues of Good vs. Evil with the hearts of those of various levels of formal nobility who rise to the challenge.