Amazing Epic

Rating: 10/10 (20 March 2016)

The main characters in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King are Frodo played by Elijah Wood, Samwise played by Sean Astin, Aaragorn played by Viggo Mortensen, Legolas played by Orlando Bloom, and Gimli played by John Rhys-Davies. The story focuses on the final leg of Frodo and Sam's journey carrying the ring of power to Mordor while the evil forces of Sauron invade the kingdom of Gondor with the hope conquering Middle Earth. Frodo and Sam battle the corrupting power of the ring which happens to contain the life force of Sauron. They inevitable throw the ring into Mount Doom effectively destroying Sauron and saving Middle Earth. The theme of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, especially The Return of the King, is the triumph of good over evil. Throughout the series and the final film the power of evil continually grows and collects power. The theme of the movie directs viewers to the idea that this evil is not necessarily some opposing force that was going to be created and need confronted regardless of circumstance. Instead, the film shows viewers that the evil throughout Middle Earth grows strong through the inaction of those strong enough to oppose it. Repeatedly throughout The Return of the King good characters are forced to make choices to either oppose the evil force or give up and allow evil to continue along its path. Theodin the king of Rohan has already defeated the forces of Saulron in his land yet still rides out to aid the kingdom of Gondor. Elrond, a king of elves comes to the aid of the humans despite his people leaving the land and having no more involvement with middle earth. Frodo and Sam are faced with a seemingly impossible task of resisting the evil power of the ring and casting it into Mount Doom. These characters and many others choose to directly oppose evil at great personal risk, and without the action of any one of them the entire group would likely have failed. The journey undertaken by Sam and Frodo is an illustration of internal struggles faced when confronting evil. Geographically speaking, the closer they get to Mount Doom the more obstacles and evil they face. The creature Gollum that they discover along the way is both an aide and a hindrance that they must deal with repeatedly in their journey. The geography of the land is used as a motif and becomes visibly more tainted the closer they get to Mount Doom, showing the corrupting power of evil. Additionally the ring of power is used as a motif showing the power of evil. The ring can, and often is, used to do good and save good people. However, the greater purpose of the ring is always to do evil and corrupt anyone that attempts to use it. Frodo and Sam's fight to transport the ring without actually using it can be seen as a symbol of how people attempt to fight evil without actually committing evil acts in the process.