Is the entire world hypnotised by subliminal imagery in ROTK???

Rating: Null/10 (20 December 2003)

I love "Fellowship". It's virtually a perfect movie, and one of the best ever made.
I like "Two Towers", but felt that the change of editor really harmed it. It works far better in the extended DVD edition.
"Return Of The King" is a shambling mess, comparable on many levels to the
disappointment of "Matrix Revolutions".
But...my principal problem with it, was similar to what I said a year ago about "Two Towers". The first hour just goes on...and on...and on. "Return" feels like a rush-job.
"Return" feels even more flabby than "Towers". I don't believe the pacing of the plot strands was worked out to its optimum level. I also don't believe that Howard Shore's score -- while wonderful music in its own right -- here lends itself well to establishing linking transitions between scenes. There was one cut in "Return" (during the elephant battle) both visual and audio, that was so jarring, it made me wince. Look at "The Empire Strikes Back": Williams cross-cuts all over the galaxy, and within action scenes on the same planet, and the score just fluidly winds through the movie and binds the whole thing together. Shore's score in places is like : "Music Chunk A"; "Music Chunk B".
So much of "Return" (scriptwise) feels overwritten in dialogue, re-emphasizing the same thing over and over. And the multiple, piled-on coda/endings just feel top-heavy, and threaten to implode the movie. And while I really liked the Smeagol opener, it just seemed unwieldy, and not the perfect way to open this movie.
The movie needed a little more time in the editing room. The jewel needed some more polishing.
Is it just me, or did anyone else think the Army of the Dead could have been realized in a more effective way? They looked like outtakes from "Ghostbusters 2"
On the plus side, yes...the battles are stunning. Gobsmacking. Although the size of them makes some of the scenes look a bit rushed: Orlando taking out the elephant, for example, which really looked a little miscomposited.
And someone please clarify this when they see it next: when Frodo wakes up in bed at the end, and the various members of the Fellowship come in...when Aragorn makes an appearance, does Wood mouth the word "Viggo"?! Or am I just going nuts?