die Saruman

Rating: 6/10 (25 May 2006)

Tolkein got bombastic as the books progressed. The prose increasingly indebted to the King James Bible. Similarly I could have done with less portentous speeches and lines in all 3 films. But here is the climax the impeding destruction of evil. Where the hell is Christopher Lee? He rightly complained bitterly about filming all his work putting his soul into it , to the point where he dismissed Star Wars in interviews as fiction and LOTR as being 'real'. The story for those of you who have better things to do than read 2000 pages of goblins, revolves around a magic ring which will give its possessor immense power. The tyrant Dark Lord Sauron (a figure who is never actually seen on screen and is the worse for it as the animated version in the 70s didn't give enough screen time to the most evil character since Satan.) demands the return of the ring in order to dominate Middle Earth. His enemies, led by the wizard Gandalf, are seeking to destroy the ring, which can only be used for evil purposes, as it corrupts its wearer as a result of being forged by Sauron himself. . At the beginning of the final part of the trilogy, Sauron's forces are massing for an attack on the kingdom of Gondor. The film relates the story of the conflict which follows. Again more big battle sequences, many are impressed by this , I would rather have a substitute with less battles. The acting is uniformly good, as a result of Peter Jackson being a proper director unlike Lucas who is only interested in translating sci fiction technology to the screen. The magnificent New Zealand scenery,is matched Howard Shore's musical score. This mixture of talents and nature raise this piece of fantasy far above other examples in the genre.