Weak Adaptation, But Decent Action Film

Rating: 7/10 (18 November 2009)

As an added caveat to any spoiler warning: I will judge this film based on my enjoyment of the "Lord of the Ring" novels, and not based solely on the film's merits as a standalone piece. That is not fair, but I am not fair.
To start: there is one other adaptation of "The Return of the King", and it aired numerous times on The Disney Channel many years ago, amidst Dr. Seuss and Winnie the Pooh specials. Many consider that a godawful adaptation, but it's fair to compare that with Peter Jackson's ultimately overrated movie, which is good as an action movie, but hardly worthy of the Best Picture Oscar (which was probably meant to reward all three "Lord of the Rings" movies simultaneously, considered as one giant epic). The Rankin/Bass 1980 cartoon adaptation was, in some ways, more faithful to Tolkein's vision than Peter Jackson's CGI extravaganza. The former movie had the deficits of having to squeeze 2/3 of LOTR as a backstory, and thus exclude major plot lines and characters; Peter Jackson's "Return" has none of these deficiencies. Still, the cartoon emphasizes the One Ring's evil influence, and incorporates Tolkien's dialogue in a credible way that Jackson's film does not. Frodo's influence under the Ring's power is better shown in the cartoon, where the hobbit (voiced by Orson Bean) glows red and grows angry and malicious. Elijah Wood simply bulges his eyes and looks out of breath. He looks like a doe-eyed Hummel figurine. When Elijah the Hobbit claims the One Ring as his own at Sammath Naur, it is utterly without menace or foreboding; the cartoon tries, however vainly, to instill the creepiness of the moment. Elijah casually claims the Ring in a nonchalant manner that utterly lacks passion.
Importantly, the cartoon features a scene where Samwise (voiced by the dude who played Corneilus and Caesar from the "Planet of the Apes" quintilogy) spares Gollum's life out of pity; mercy and compassion, hobbit traits essential to the themes in the LOTR novels, is ultimately what allows the Ring to be destroyed. The final film of Jackson's trilogy has little of that theme incorporated into the story, instead going for action (to be fair, "The Two Towers" features a key scene where Frodo spares Gollum's life, but that's another review).
In sum, Jackson includes Legolas and Gimli, and has the benefit of the whole of the LOTR backstory. Rankin/Bass lacks Legolas and Gimli, but makes up for it with a terse rendition of what it can salvage from the final novel, ultimately remaining faithful to Tolkein's tone and keeping key pieces of dialogue without looking ridiculous. The cartoon, for all its faults, has the benefit of crispness while retaining the important themes from the novel. Jackson has the great luxury of scriptwriters and special effects, but cannot remain faithful to the essence of Tolkien's works, with the very important exception of Aragorn's role as a protagonist. At least Jackson emphasizes Aragorn's (played by Weaps of "Crimson Tide") destiny to be the human ruler of Middle Earth, as told through Elrond (played by Agent Smith). The filming of Elrond presenting a reconstructed Narsil to our hero is beautifully done; for this, Jackson deserves praise, if only for emphasizing an important part of the LOTR epic that seems secondary to the whole business of destroying the One Ring.
The acting varies in quality. Weaps is awesome as Aragorn, and takes his hero role seriously. The lovely Miranda Otto does bring passion to her ultimately secondary role as the heroine Eowyn. Elijah Wood is utterly dull as Frodo, though I don't know if his character is supposed to be this way. He is not an involving protagonist. Mikey from "The Goonies" is better as Samwise, and brings emotion to his role. Andy Serkis is wonderful as Gollum, but I preferred the crazed groans and screams of Brother Theodore from the cartoon. Still, Serkis does make Gollum come alive; out of all the actors from the movie, he deserved an Oscar.
CGI doesn't impress me that much. This movie includes too much action, to the detriment of preserving the essence of the novels. The prolonged rendition of the Battle of the Pelennor Fields was meant to appease the average moviegoers who like thrills and spills. The Dead Men had a small role in the book, but Jackson brings them to center stage as Aragorn's ghostly allies, who kill off the oliphaunts and allies of Mordor. They look like the zombies from "Pirates of the Caribbean", and whether you think they're cool depends on how much you're deceived by CGI.
This film is ultimately overrated, and definitely did not deserve the Best Picture Oscar. Still, it does remain true to some of Tolkien's art, in spite of its attempts to also be an action blockbuster. I recommend it, but true Tolkien fans are better off with the Rankin/Bass cartoon for a movie that tries to capture the themes of the literature that inspired it.