A Elbereth Gilthoniel!

Rating: 8/10 (20 December 2003)

After seeing The Fellowship of the Ring I thought "nice try". I appreciated the effort and integrity with which Peter Jackson had approached Tolkien but I couldn't quite see it as agreeing with my vision of what the movie should be, although I did enjoy it. I am a Tolkien fan and have been decades and collectively we are not an easy bunch to please. Tolkien himself, I think, would not have been very easy to please. I gave The Fellowship of the Ring three stars out of four.
The Two Towers moved more quickly but sacrificed what is to me the essence of the Lord of the Rings: the humanity, if one may call it that, of the hobbits and the quiet contemplation of the natural wonders of Middle Earth - the flowers, the trees, the grass. But I have to admit that a movie which tried to explore those aspects of the novel would have been almost impossible to film. Nonetheless, as with the first movie in the trilogy I did enjoyed watching it. Again, three stars out of four.
And so, to the Return of the King. Like its predecessors it is flawed but - YES! finally the series takes flight. Though using the latest in computer animation this film is a return to the great days of film-making past. The battle sequences are of epic proportions and the acting, particularly of Miranda Otto as Eoywn and Sean Astin as Sam, lifts the movie into another emotional level. The film is not as faithful to the details of the book as the first two parts but it is entirely faithful to the spirit.

Like the winged Nazgul the film soars and carries us with it through excitement, laughter and tears. Without wishing to reveal the ending let me just say that during the penultimate scene, at the Grey Havens, the crowded theatre I was in was hushed: the audience was lost in the movie. The only sound you could hear was an occasional quiet throat-clearing as some person decided that it had suddenly become a necessity. Four stars out of four. It is a masterpiece that will be enjoyed for generations to come.
Many thanks to Peter Jackson and the entire cast and crew who have given us this Christmas present. It was a labour of love for all concerned and it shows. The Academy Award belongs to this film, to Jackson as director, to Howard Shore for a fantastic score and to Sean Astin for turning in one of the most moving portrayals of friendship in film history.