A great disappointment - but no surprise

Rating: 2/10 (19 January 2005)

Very few trilogies manage to keep an even level of quality throughout. The classic example of course being "The Godfather"-trilogy, who, although the first two 'chapters' were brilliant, floundered in the end. The very same phenomenon exists in the world of literature as well, to name an example; the "Gormenghast"-trilogy.
Why is this? It is probably not possible to arrive at a complete answer, but one possible solution is obvious. Firstly, Jackson must have been exhausted from making the two previous movies. Making cinema at the highest level is very hard work, and especially so for a director so closely interwoven with all aspects of the production. I believe he simply lost his concentration. A few of the obvious weak points of the movie should have been rooted out on an early stage. The fact that they weren't indicate a lack of the control Jackson exercised over LOTR I and II, in particular over the script. The story in the most complicated part of LOTR, near the very end, is so appallingly bad that many in the audience felt embarrassed for their interest int the trilogy as a whole. Now, Mr. Jackson isn't solely to blame for it all. Everyone who has read LOTR know that Tolkien also very much messed up the story at the end. Being a no more than mediocre writer he simply lacked the experience to round off the story in a fashion that suited the mammoth amount of verbiage leading up to the final battle. The predominant problem is that neither Jackson, who could have rewritten the end, or Tolkien offer anything new or remotely exciting. Instead they rehash the battle at Helm's deep. And, after many hours of careful storytelling, Jackson's heroes stumbles, out of nowhere, upon the "Deus I'm machina", an animated phosphorous-green army of semi-transparent ghouls. These specters, horribly reminiscent of "the Judge" from Jackson's flop "The Frighteners" save the day. The importance of these undead crusaders is inexplicably exaggerated by Walsh and Jackson. In addition, the digital effect used to create the army reminds one of a commercial for soap, a green blob magically swooping away the dirt. Visually, Jackson tendency to rely too much on digital effects was his downfall. It really isn't necessary to add that the final scenes was rather pathetic, a reminder that Tolkien dodged complex emotions for a very good reason. The supposedly bitter-sweet goodbye at the dock is drenched in golden light, no doubt added digitally, and adds the last touch of defeat to this great disappointment.
I rate this movie: 2/10