Fantasy at its finest

Rating: 8/10 (15 February 2016)

The final chapter of Peter Jackson's adaptation of The Lord of the Rings trilogy is a fitting, if overlong send-off to the characters and story that have by now become legendary works, both in literature and cinema. It encapsulates all that was good --and to a lesser extent, all that wasn't so good -- about the first two films and amplifies it with gleeful abandon. Although fans of the original two may be slightly bothered by the final film's extravagance, it is necessary given that any less would be seen as a step down from the mounting visual and technical brilliance embodied by the first two.
One cannot deny that The Return of the King is a technical masterpiece, but some of its subplots unnecessarily supersede the more important plot: that of Frodo, Sam and Gollum. Many of them -- especially the Arwen/Aragorn subplot, which is as forgettable as can be -- reek with a pungent silliness, mostly due to their inability to tell a complete story without resorting to blunt dialogue. Although this spares us another hour or two tacked on the running time, it reduces the overall effect.
This film shows a definite shift in focus from Frodo and Sam to Aragorn, Rohan, and Minas Tirith, morphing from an adventure film into a tense political drama of alliances, war, and of course, impending destruction. The first half of the film (not much unlike Jackson's Battle of the Five Armies, which I will not speak of again) is presented as buildup for the second. Preparations for war are made, alliances are formed, and then, WAR.
Upon witnessing the first act of the Siege of Minas Tirith, I knew that I was in for an entirely new experience. In the Two Towers and The Fellowship of the Ring, death was treated with dignity and restraint, but as we see by the Orcs' initial fear-mongering tactic -- showering Minas Tirith with the body parts of prisoners (many of which are shown in bloody detail) -- this is to be no such war. It is a bloody, extremely long, extremely violent war, complete with flying bodies, decapitations, elephants which crush riders underfoot and burning bodies alive. Although it is pure and gleeful spectacle, it is up to the viewer to decide whether or not it is worth all the death they are forced to sit through.
The climax of the film makes it all worth it. It was so triumphant, magnificent, and powerful that I could not help but shed a few hapless tears. You really get a sense of the scope of Frodo's quest, and his beautiful relationship with Sam. Tolkien excelled at interjecting violence, darkness and despair with brief moments of friendship, hope, and love. Jackson encapsulates this perfectly.
Seldom have I seen a film that embraces its literary roots with such fervent admiration, and while that alone is admirable, it is amplified by the fact that the film is actually good. Sure, it's silly and filled with Deus Ex Machina, but it's a beautiful, rousing sort of silliness that will live on for decades to come.