The great film saga of our time.

Rating: 10/10 (21 June 2010)

The Lord of the Rings is without doubt the most epic and staggering film undertaking of all time. How Peter Jackson pulled it off I will never know, maybe he used one of Gandalf's enchantments! Rarely throughout the 12 hour epic is there a bad scene or a dull moment, every scene has had so much thought and hard work poured into it. From the writing, to the production crew, to the acting, to the scenery,to the music (oh god I love the music)and just everybody's determination to pull this near impossible feat off, even fantasy haters would have to admit their amazement. Never has a movie given me so many spine tingly moments and scenes of such beauty that they nearly push me to tears. Peter Jackson seemed so blessed with good fortune, (Viggo Mortensens' last minute replacement says it all), it was as if the spirit of Tolkien himself was guiding it along. As I see this as one whole movie, I won't be reviewing just 'The Return of the King'.
I saw the first film 'The Fellowhip of the Ring' when I was 12, and I'm 21 now and I still haven't been more absorbed by a movie in the cinema and I doubt I ever will. The transition from the innocence and lightness of the Shire at the start to the dark epic of the quest later is nothing short of brilliant. I think 'Fellowship' is my favourite of the three, it goes through the most development and felt the most satisfying. The whole mines of Moria sequence is my standout moment of the entire trilogy. To the battle with the cave troll and the escape from the balrog, it is exhilarating, involving and most of all - emotional.
'The Two Towers' has the hardest task of being the middle film, but it more than rises to the challenge. It drops you straight into the action and doesn't hold up. The Rohan sequences are the best bits of the film, culminating in the battle of helms deep which to me is the most personal and intense battle of the trilogy. The creation of Gollum was revolutionary, through CGI and motion capture never has a computerised character seemed so real.
'The Return of the King' delivers the emotional finale we all hoped it would. I remember sitting in the cinema hearing all sorts of sobbing all around me during the climax on mount doom. There are so many stand-out moments in this movie but the one I will mention is the charge of the Rohirrim. This scene actually pushed me to tears on first viewing, not because it was sad but because it was so... awesome. I was so happy when this film won 11 Oscars, it more than deserved it, I was hoping it would win more than 11 but oh well.
Any gripes I have for the trilogy, would be the portrayal of its big bad Sauron, and considering that Sauron is the centre of 'The Lord of the Rings' this is definitely a problem. If there was one thing from the books that is unfilmable it is definitely Sauron. How do you portray a villain that hardly appears and any descriptions of him there are, are so vague and surreal? Is Sauron a big flaming eye or did he have a physical form? This is never made clear in the books and poses a big obstacle for film, where the audience needs to see their villain. Peter Jackson and co do the best they can with the material, and chose to literally portray Sauron as the big flaming eye. However this is not enough to satisfy, especially during the climax of 'Return of the King' where the dark lord is basically a lighthouse! The films make the mistake of bigging Sauron up through the films, and ultimately it fizzles out by the end which is a real shame.
As you can tell from what I have said, I love 'The Lord of the Rings', and I would say it is my favourite film of all time. No other film has moved me as much as this and given me so many different emotions from fear, to sadness to laughter. I honestly couldn't imagine anyone else playing the characters, it was if they were made for them. The actors all generally had a special relationship with one another and with Peter Jackson (just watch the extras), and that what you are watching on screen is genuine. It was almost to the point that the actors weren't working so hard out of professionalism but out of love and devotion to Mr.Jackson. Hardly any other films can claim they had this kind of magic behind the camera. Honourable mentions will be given to Ian Mckellen as Gandalf, Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn and Elijah Wood as Frodo, I felt these three literally became the characters they were playing, but of course there are countless others to mention but I don't have time. Howard Shore's score is possibly the best movie score ever, and the films would be nothing without it.
Ultimately say what you will hardcore Tolkien fans about the films, you cannot deny that they did so much for Tolkiens' greatest work and made it one of the most recognisable stories in the world. If you have somehow not seen these films, first of all slap yourself and secondly go buy the extended editions as these are the true versions of the films and include many great scenes that were cut - especially 'The Return of the King' which had many vital scenes cut aka. Saruman's last hoorah and Gandalf confronting the Witch King. Peter Jackson I salute you, and New Zealand!