The greatest film of our time!

Rating: 10/10 (20 March 2004)

The Return of the King is a masterpiece, one whose magic and emotion we will not see in a film again. The Return of the King continues from where The Two Towers left us; Rohan's victory against the armies of Saruman at Helm's Deep and where Frodo and Sam follow the deceitful Gollum into Mordor. The film starts with a flashback where Smeagol and Deagol are fishing...a perfect shift to the past and then the story is back in the present, where darkness prevails and then...the magnificent story unfolds as it takes the audience to every corner of Middle Earth, through the eyes of the characters. I think what is the most admirable thing in these books and films is that the real physically strong characters with kind hearts are not the true heroes. The true heroes are physically weak but are the most determined and the most mentally and emotionally driven. Peter Jackson, the deserving director who got The Director's Guild Award and three Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay brings to life one of the most difficult books of all time. This is perhaps the first fantasy trilogy which is in its essence, very human. There is greed, betrayal and evil but on the other hand, what dominates the brilliant story are themes of friendship, love, determination, trust, hope and the power of good. The beloved book is brought to life by the brilliant cast and crew who gave marvellous performances. It is so easy to laugh with the characters, so easy to love and to hate them, and especially, so easy to cry with them. The entire cast perhaps contributed on one of the best ensemble you can see in a movie (that is why they got the SAG Award for Ensemble acting).
Frodo is played to perfection by the brilliant Elijah Wood. If you see the pain in Frodo's eyes, it is only because Elijah Wood understood it and put it as his own. There definitely couldn't be another Frodo. His loyal companion and faithful friend, Samwise Gamgee is played by Sean Astin. I would say this is Sean's breakthrough. The third movie shows us what he is really made of. His flawless portrayal of Sam brings you to tears. Then there is Gollum, excellently played by an incredibly talented actor, Andy Serkis who didn't only give voice to Gollum but also drove the CGI creation through action. Magnificence is also brought into the movie by the irreplacable actors Viggo Mortensen and Sir Ian McKellen, who played Aragorn (the one who contributes to the name 'The Return of the King') and the latter played the wise wizard Gandalf. I haven't named the other actors, not because their perfomances were not worth noticing but because the list would be endless. I thought all actors were so brilliant, that they cannot be replaced. I think the movie was one of those rare movies which are flawless. Why I recommend this movie to you? Well in the words of Samwise 'There is some good in this world and it's worth fighting for'. And not only that; if you want to think and appreciate the person in you, I believe it would be good to feel with the characters and understand them. Judge yourself and believe that 'even the smallest person can change the course of the future'. The trilogy ends here, a great pity for me and millions of others. I loved all movies and anticipated their release. Now it is over. There couldn't be a better end though than having the Return of the King win 4 Golden Globe Awards, 5 BAFTAs, an SAG Award, DGA for Jackson and the best of all, 11 Academy Awards plus many other awards! I think back to what Frodo said 'How do you pick up the pieces of an old life? How do you go on?...There are some things that cannot mend.' I think this is so true. All lovers of this movie probably feel like this now. To those who haven't watched this...go soon! This is the greatest trilogy (and a few of the greatest movies) of our time. You can't afford to miss the end of the trilogy! To those who don't like the movies, I can't imagine how you failed to see all the elements that make these movies timeless masterpieces of all time. The complexity of these themes and the reality in the story are unparalleled to any other. To those who have not watched a single movie from LOTR, I recommend that you watch all and love them because I can assure you that they are undoubtedly the greatest achievements in cinematic history in our lifetime.