Masterpiece for Ages to Come

Rating: 10/10 (29 December 2003)

The final installment of the trilogy has been put in place, and Peter Jackson and company have given us a set of films that will be required viewing to new generations. The third film - The Return of the King - is as good as the first two films. It ties up most of the loose strings very nicely and puts an end finally to the epic battle of good and evil that has beset Middle Earth. Although these films are separate, they really are to me one long film with much needed rest breaks. I can already envision sitting down year after year spending a day watching the whole film from the opening scene of The Fellowship of the Ring(extended DVD version of course) to the final closing scene of The Return of the King(Boy, I cannot wait till that extended version comes out!). Jackson's masterful direction and ability to tell a story with suspense and grandeur are not to be under-estimated. I hope that the members of the Academy of Arts and Sciences realize their duty and award him the Best Director Oscar and this film the Best Picture Oscar. Both are very deserved. Besides the rich story, the eye-popping cinematography, the compelling special effects, the haunting music, The Return of the King has some very solid performances by the entire cast. Elijah Wood gets little credit but his Frodo is well-conceived. Sean Astin is very strong as Samwise. Sir Ian McKellan should have won the Academy Award for his turn as Gandalf in the first film. Still good, he has little screen time comparatively in this film. Mortensom, Bloom, and in particular Bernard Hill all shine again. John Rhys Davies as Gimli sparkles with the little screen time he has. I was very disappointed to see Mr. Christopher Lee's scenes cut, but anxiously await them in the extended version. His contributions to the first two films are indeed very strong. Bottom Line: three movies had never been made at the same time in the history of film. These three were and they are cinematic gems! They have dazzled Tolkien fans the world over, but more importantly, they have turned thousands into viewers and even readers of fantasy. That is the positive power of film!