The eye of the enemy is moving

Rating: 10/10 (19 September 2019)

As far as I'm concerned, Return of the King can be as long, as indulgent and end as many times as it damn well wants to. It deserves it. It manages to round off an epic trilogy effortlessly by amalgamating all the characters and factors the series had thrown at us previously. Even dead characters get cameos, and there's the heart-rending emotional resonance of the first film alongside the epic warfare of the second. When the plan comes together, you have what can be labelled as something as close to perfect as a film can possibly get.
The scope of the film is staggering. Combining fantasy politics, multitudes of different species for our imaginations to go wild with and geography to put the Ordnance Survey to shame, this is an epic in every possible sense of the word. Picking up the focus and pace by giving every separate storyline something hopelessly exciting to chew on, this is a vast improvement on the scattershot and stop-start Two Towers. Jackson has a precision when directing battle sequences that simply eclipses his game-changer of Helm's Deep, and he pulls it off not once, not twice, but thrice. The assault on Minas Tirith and the ensuing Battle of Pelenor Fields is visceral action-cinema at its very pinnacle, with Jackson combining some of the horrific black humour that he perfected in his early horror years with his recent training concerning constructing crystal-clear battle sequences. It may be one set-piece after another and rely on convenience to perpetuate itself, but there are two things that distract from this:
1. The inability to criticise J.R.R Tolkien's phenomenal source material.
2. The sheer spectacle of it all.
This is Jackson's true labour of love, and you can tell that he's poured his heart and soul into every second of it all. Even with the scenes that didn't make it into the theatrical cut, Jackson is a magician, with the Mouth of Sauron negotiation being a particularly imaginative and grotesque delight. An evident adoration and respect for the story and characters is what marks Lord of the Rings out from the other blockbuster franchises as a true and heartfelt film that effortlessly elevates itself to legendary status.
The actors are clearly in love with the material too. The relationship between Frodo and Sam, while undeniably sentimental, is always touching and pleasant without descending into obvious schmaltz. Elijah Wood and Sean Astin are remarkable here, with Wood in particular manoeuvering nicely out of the tricky spot of becoming evil while under the influence of the Ring. There's some scene-stealing from John Noble as the emotionally-imbalanced Steward of Gondor, Denethor, while Bernard Hill and Viggo Mortensen make the most of their meaty inspirational speeches in glorious form. The only complaint to be had is with Liv Tyler, but that's not really her fault, since her presence always feels written in as an afterthought and a subplot.
Now, to address the Mûmakil in the room (you don't know what that is? Look it up!): the endings. Why, oh why, would you not want to elongate your goodbye with the dense and lovable characters you've just spent 11 hours of your life with? There is no problem with how the trilogy closes with its vast number of endings, as every character is given their little moment to savour and bid farewell with. It's touching, it's heartfelt and it gets you right in the cockles of your heart.
As a childhood favourite, this is perfect. As a film, this is perfect. Its vast length and scope and expansive canvas of stories and characters are so skilfully interwoven and layered that there's no way I cannot give this ten stars and say it is the best of the trilogy, it is the best of the six film saga.