Rousing but imperfect finale to the series (major spoilers)

Rating: Null/10 (2 February 2004)

As far as epic trilogy finales go, you could do a lot worse than "Return of the King". As the closing chapter of the movie series, it is fantastically epic and sprawling. Yet at the same time, people who have read the original book will sadly have much to criticise in this finale both from what has been excised and what has been done, in some respects, with what remains.
Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen), Gandalf (Ian McKellen) and Theoden (Bernard Hill) have return to Rohan with Merry (Dominic Monaghan) and Pippin (Billy Boyd) to celebrate their triumph over Saruman (Christopher Lee, whose scenes were famously excised from this picture). However, they must prepare for Sauron's final onslaught at Minas Tirith, of which Aragorn is set to assume kingship. Frodo (Elijah Wood) and Sam (Sean Astin) quietly slip into Mordor, mindful of the scheming of the treacherous Gollum (Andy Serkis), who has a few surprises in store for the pair.....
It is in the story and script areas that the quibbles arise. The ending celebrations, which take up the final twenty minutes, are a little too pat and Frodo and Sam's eventual return to the Shire too cosy, lacking the bitter irony that laced Tolkien's story. It would have served the film a whole lot better the ending had been more faithful to the book. Further than that, there are one or two moments here that have been borrowed from other films. One key line "What does your heart tell you?" has been stolen direct from "Star Wars", and Aragorn's final battle speech to his men is right out of "Braveheart". This sort of derivative nonsense need not have been included and it's presence lets the film down.
Yet these are nevertheless very minor quibbles. They may keep "Return of the King" from being a great movie, but they do not stop it from being a really good movie. The film lasts for over three and a quarter hours yet the time passes very quickly. The cinematography is once again excellent with some dizzyingly high mountain views and really good aerial shots. The camera-work makes Middle Earth a convincing and believable world and it is hard not to get absorbed in it.
There are some fantastic scenes in the story. In a trap laid by Gollum, Sam and Frodo face Shelob, a terrifying giant spider that nearly makes short work of them. Then there is the siege on Minas Tirith, a beautiful city carved into a cliff. This sequence is in many ways an enlargement of the Helm's Deep battle in "The Two Towers", but it is played brilliantly, with an exciting mix of drama, action, special effects and humour. The film thankfully keeps the Mount Doom finale faithful to the book, and is all the better because of it.
Acting-wise, Viggo Mortensen is a little too relaxed as Aragorn. He's fine handling the dramatic scenes, but doesn't throw himself into the battles like he should. Because of this, his presence lacks edge. Orlando Bloom and John Rhys-Davies are still good as Legolas and Gimli, but they don't get enough screen time to bring their friendship full circle.
However, Ian MacKellen maintains a strong authoritative presence as Gandalf, while Dominic Monaghan and Billy Boyd are on fine form as Merry and Pippin, the latter even getting to sing at one point. John Noble is watch-ably loathsome as Denethor, the mad Steward of Mina Tirith who thinks nothing of burning his dying son alive in the midst of battle. Elijah Wood and Sean Astin remain a powerful central pair as Frodo and Sam, their affectionate companionship enduring abandonment and betrayal. Wood in particular pulls off the arc of his character, steadily building up over the previous films, with a subtle conviction that works very well.
Yet once more Andy Serkis as Smeagol/Gollum just about steals the show. The opening flashback showing Smeagol's discovery of the ring and his slow, torturous corruption by it is haunting and gives a tragic depth to this character and shows his fate to be tragically linked to that of the ring and ironically leads to his redemption. People will be talking about and imitating Gollum long after the films themselves have faded from memory.
Imperfect and perhaps lacking the edge that could have made it complete, "Return of the King" nevertheless makes a rousing, enjoyable finale to this epic series.