One trilogy to rule them all.

Rating: Null/10 (30 December 2003)

The "Star Wars" movies passed me by as a boy; I never saw the first movie in cinemas, and while I did see "The Empire Strikes Back" and "Return of the Jedi" I'm still not, to this day, a true fan of George Lucas's pride and joy. The "Matrix" movies... well, we won't talk about the first two (I still haven't seen "The Matrix Revolutions" but I may do if Warner Bros. Entertainment swears on the CEO's blood that there'll be plenty of Monica Bellucci on the DVD).
But "The Lord of the Rings"... can you imagine how Peter Jackson's movies must affect kids aged around seven or eight? It would show Eve and Gwen Stefani a thing or 976 about blowing minds, that's for sure. This trilogy of movie adaptations has truly been event cinema, all the way to the end of "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King." It has absolutely everything, with the possible exception of a "Previously on 'The Lord of the Rings'" recap, and the definite exceptions of
a) Christopher Lee (who was controversially miffed at the dropping of his scenes from the final cut, and it must be said that a Gandalf-Sauron face-off or indeed anything featuring the sonorous one wouldn't have gone amiss), and
b) More of Liv Tyler (if ever a movie demonstrated that there is no movie, no matter how good, that could not be improved by a bit more of La Tyler, it's this one - the gorgeous one gets remarkably short shrift considering her billing, though compared to Cate Blanchett...).
These flaws don't really get in the way of the scope of the movie - the staggering fight scenes work all the more because adapters Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens and Mr. Jackson never lose sight of the people/creatures at the centre of the story; Sam's undying devotion to Frodo [the true emotional core of the movie] has as much impact as the sight of Legolas singlehandedly bringing down a giant elephant-thing, and all the better for it. This isn't a damn TV movie rerouted to the big screen; this is the kind of thing movies were invented for, and it holds a spell on you all the way through, with the whole cast getting their times to shine, so by the end we really feel as if we're saying goodbye to real people. As superb as the FX (from WETA et al), Grant Major's impressive design, Andrew Lesnie's classy cinematography, Ngila Dickson and Richard Taylor's lovely costumes, Jamie Selkirk and Annie Collins's first-rate editing and especially Howard Shore's wonderful score are (alas, Academy rules about sequel scores prevented him getting a nomination for "The Two Towers" and may well block him here as well), that's ultimately the biggest achievement on view here.
At 200 minutes, this movie is an hour longer than "The Matrix Reloaded" but feels shorter - do I have to say more? Actually, yes; the movie's need to wrap up the loose ends means it goes on a bit longer than it really has to (there seem to be at least five or six endings), but by this stage we've seen over nine hours of some of the most impressive storytelling in many a year or three, and that's the only real flaw in this final chapter. Arugably the best third instalment in screen history, and a rare case of something truly living up to its hype. Plus, it's helped bring fantasy to a wider audience, and H**** P***** notwithstanding, that's never a bad thing. Whatever I go to see on my birthday next year has a lot to live up to.
"Farewell, good hobbits."