A parable for the human condition.

Rating: 10/10 (2 September 2007)

All in all, I've seen these films a combined total of nearly 30 times. I used to have the books read to me as a kid. I'm no geek, but Lord Of The Rings is almost in my blood. I won't waste your time with things that others have said, only to provide a few extra ideas. I read a comment on here that stated the first Lord Of The Rings film was a road movie, the second was a war movie, and the last was a movie of friendship. I think these comments are largely true, though I think of this last movie as something even bigger, a parable for the human condition, the dark truths that plague us all, and how we must all face them. The technical aspects of this film have been discussed many a time - perfect sets, costumes, photography and visual effects abound. 'Return' is a crystal ball (palantir? :P) into another universe. The effects deserve special mention. Gollum needs no other mention except that, during one shot on the winding stair, where Gollum is deceiving Frodo about Sam, that he looks *completely real*. One thing to note is that the first film thrived on its' single-minded narrative, whilst the other two split off into three branches. This film functions much better in this regard than The Two Towers, mainly thanks to the hectic pace of the story. Though the first 40 minutes are a warm-up (essentially the last parts of the Towers book), once we arrive at Minas Tirith, the rest of the movie builds into a nearly nonstop, incredibly intense set-piece. The enemy is marching on the capital of the land of men in hundreds of thousands, and there is no other road except to stand and defend the city. Even in winning this impossible battle, the war cannot be won. All is up for grabs, and every one of our heroes shall reach moments of destiny. Acting is fantastic across the board. I was especially convinced by the depiction of Denethor and Faramir - such a horrible and accurate portrayal of a broken family. To see John Noble portray the deranged steward in this film, as compared to the brash, stubborn man in the Osgiliath scene in the longer Two Towers cut, is to understand your own dad. To see Gandalf running down the walls of the white city yelling "Do not give into fear! FIGHT!" is to get chills. To see Aragorn finally move from quiet everyman into a wise, powerful leader, is to grow yourself. One nitpick I have is with the diluted script. A few of my favourite moments in the book (the Witchking showdown and the Mouth Of Sauron encounter) are slightly too Hollywood for my liking, rather than Gothic pitch-black as originally thought. There is not much breathing room either, though this really only adds to the power of the final work when you go back to watch it again...I personally intend to watch these films many, many more times. Some would say a trilogy of this scope is too big to sum up, but the message is clear, and more relevant than ever - we must all stand up, together, against the evils and mediocrities of this world and our nature, in friendship and love, even onto our inevitable death.