All Hail the "King"

Rating: 10/10 (1 February 2004)

Flawless? No. Mindblowing? No.
A delightful blend of both? YES!
I cannot begin to express my apprecation for this movie. It is a masterpiece, an amazing conclusion to a brilliant work of fantasy and imagination.
While the startup is a little slow for this installment, once the movie hits its stride, it steamrolled me, leaving me emotionally and physically drained after each viewing. I find it too hard to discuss this movie in continuum, so i will resort to lists:
THE GOOD: Shelob's Lair: Perfectly crafted as the last place ANY sane person would want to be, the lair builds up the suspense very nicely, aided by Gollum's creepy voice echoing through the caves. Surprisingly, Shelob wasn't that creepy at first glance. Yet, as she was stalking Frodo later on, the freakiness factor ratcheted up about 100 notches.
Denethor's Madness: Too underdeveloped, but still good. Seeing Gandalf beat the Sh*t out of Denethor was awfully rewarding, and the character provided some interesting moments. Unfortunately, we never really know WHY he goes insane (unless you read the books), and this detracts something from the film.

The GREAT: Ride of the Rohirrim: Both its beginning and end were STUNNING. Seeing them ride out of camp was visually amazing, and the buildup to the charge at the fields of Pellenor was spine-tingling. Also gives the second best line in the film, a la Theoden: Ride now! Ride now! Ride for ruin, and the World's ending!
The Beacons: This scene kicked the movie into high gear, and it never looked back. For such a simple scene, the effect was extraordinary. Combined with Howard Shore's masterful scoring, this scene flat out rocked.
The Paths of the Dead: A scene that could have been so corny...at yet wasn't. The dead were eerily realistic, and yet they managed to retain the fear factor of being the souls of traitors and murderers.

The Last Stand: This scene is kept out of the next catergory for only one reason: Aragorn's speech. The pacing was slightly off, just enough so that it made his speech sound a little top rushed. But beyond that, every other part of this scene was spot on.
Faramir's Charge: This scene blew me away. Seeing a son give his life on a father's whim while the father sits behind stone walls and stuffs his face was so powerful, and yet very disturbing at the same time. Having Pippin singing just made the scene that much more powerful and meaningful.
THE GRADE A, KICK A$$, ABSOLUTELY AMAZING STUFF:
The Battle of Pellenor Fields: Perfect. That is the only word that comes to mind here. Frim the charge of the Rohirrim to the appearance of the Haradrim cavalry to the slaying of the Witch King, everything was spot on. And, better still, there were far fewer breaks than there were for Helm's Deep.
Frodo and Sam: All the way through, this was the best. More specifically, the two climbing Mt. Doom was heartbreaking, beautiful, and so many other things all at once. Here the best line in any film is uttered, as Sam tells Frodo that can't carry the ring for him, but he can carry Frodo. This brought tears to my eyes; the only to have ever done so. The final scenes in Mt. Doom were amazing, especially when Frodo claims the ring. Brilliant.

The Ending: Peter Jackson, I love you. For keeping the ending the way you did, you deserve an oscar. Some say it dragged. I say that it really showed that there are no happy endings. Plus, having Sam say "I'm Back" was just unbelievable. I was so happy that they kept that in.
THE MILDLY IRKSOME: The Palatiri: A little too fake, a little too corny for my tastes. It got the job done, but I think there was a better way to do it. Showing what Pippin saw in the Palantiri as it happened, not after the fact, for example.

The Dead: Having them show up at Pellenor seemed a wee bit too much like a cop out for my tastes.
No Saruman: I know all the reasons....I still don't like it. It needed to be resolved for those people who HAVEN'T read the books.
Arwen/Aragorn: What was up with this?! Arwen's life had nothing to do with the fate of the ring, and suggesting such an idea did nothing to advance the plot or build dramatic tension. On the plus side, Aragorn does get Anduril.

No Gandalf/WitchKing Confrontation: Don't hype what you aren't going to show.
But beyond all that, there is an amazing movie. The best work of cinema I have ever had the pleasure of viewing. Seeing what was done here just makes me more anxious for the Extended Cut of the film, since that should fix most of my gripes with the current cut of the film.
Thank you, Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, and the rest of the cast and crew. You friggin rock.