In December of 2001, the first installment of the movie version of The Lord of the Rings was released. I didn’t really know anything about the trilogy until I started to see the previews for the first movie, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. I saw the movie and loved it. In 2002, I saw The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, the second movie in the trilogy, and I continued to be hooked on the story. I have the extended versions of the first two movies on DVD now. I have been anxiously waiting to see The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King for months now. I got excited just from seeing the trailer. I have looked forward to seeing other movies before, but never this much. I don’t like to deal with large crowds in theaters, but I wanted to go see this movie on opening day. And I did. This was the first time in years I have been in a movie that sold out, but I don’t regret going now at all.

Smeagol was fishing with Deagol when they discovered a ring. As soon as it saw it, Smeagol’s obsession with the ring started. He got the ring and was corrupted by it. He started to change. The longer he had the ring, the less he looked like his old self. He forgot his name, turned vicious, lost most of his hair and a lot of weight. He became known as Gollum and was obsessed with the ring. Gollum was leading Sam and Frodo to Mount Doom in Mordor, but Gollum was plotting to get the ring back. Once in Mordor, they saw Sauron’s army set out, including the Witch King. No man could kill him. Gollum did things to make Frodo doubt Sam. Gollum led Frodo into a trap, hoping he would get the ring back.

The battle at Helm’s Deep was over. Theoden and his men returned to Edoras in Rohan. Aragorn, Gandalf, Legolas, and Gimli. went to Isengard where they reunited with Merry and Pippin. Gandalf talked briefly to Treebeard, telling him he was in charge there now. Pippin found something that Gandalf quickly took. They all headed for Edoras. Aragorn and Gandalf were worried about Frodo. Something happened that clued them into what Sauron’s plans were. Gandalf and Pippen headed for Minas Tirith in Gondor to warm them that Sauron was planning to send his army to attack. Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, and Merry stayed in Edoras.

In Minas Tirith, Gandalf and Pippin met with Denethor, the Stewart of Gondor and father of Boromir and Faramir. Denethor had heard of Boromir’s death and was very unhappy about that. Gandalf told Denethor how Sauron was heading for the city and that they needed to get help. Gandalf said that Theoden would come from Rohan. Denethor said that he knew about Aragorn being the heir of Isildur. Denethor didn’t want Aragorn there, and he refused to do anything to prepare for Sauron’s coming forces. Gandalf and Pippin did something about that. A signal was lit, and Aragorn saw it in Edoras. Theoden said Rohan would go to help. Eomer and some other men headed out to recruit more men. Elrond arrived at a camp they sat up with something for Aragorn. He, Legolas, and Gimli then went to do something before going into battle. Eowyn didn’t want to stay behind with the other women. Merry also wanted to take part in the battle.

CAST

Sean Astin - Sam
Sean Bean - Boromir
Cate Blanchett - Galadriel
Orlando Bloom - Legolas
Billy Boyd - Pippin
Bernard Hill - Theoden
Ian Holm - Bilbo Baggins
Lawrence Makoare - Witch King/Gothmog
Ian McKellen - Gandalf
Dominic Monaghan - Merry
Viggo Mortensen - Aragorn
Miranda Otto - Eowyn
John Rhys-Davies - Gimli
Thomas Robus - Deagol
Andy Serkis - Smeagol/Gollum
Harry Sinclair - Isildur
Liv Tyler - Arwen
Karl Urban - Eomer
Hugo Weaving - Elrond
David Wenham - Faramir
Elijah Wood - Frodo

Peter Jackson - Director

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King was released on December 17, 2003. The movie was rated PG-13 and 200 minutes long. Of the movies in the trilogy, The Return of the King is the longest, at least in the theatrical versions. The extended versions of The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers on DVD are both longer than 200 minutes. Some people might think the movie is too long, but I didn’t have a problem with the length of it. I do think the movie is too long for young children to sit though and stay interested. There were a few times when it seemed like the movie was ending, but it continued on a bit more to finish tying up everything.

I loved The Return of the King. I had been looking forward to seeing this movie for a long time, and after the first two movies, my expectations were high. I was not disappointed. The plot was complex, but it wasn’t that hard for me to follow. Much more than what I mentioned previously happened over the course of the movie. The plot was very interesting and I couldn’t wait to see what would happen next. I was never really sure what was going to happen next, though I did hope a few things would happen. There were several things that I found suspenseful, but people who have read the book may not find those scenes as suspenseful. The movie did jump around from the different plot lines like it did in The Two Towers. I didn’t have a problem with that. The action did seem to focus in more on certain things at times, and I did wonder when some characters would turn up again. I did like that it would show what one group was doing when another group of characters was doing something else. I don’t think I would have liked it as well if the movie had stayed focused in on some characters for a while until their part of the story was done, and then moved on to someone else. The movie was fairly fast paced, though there were some slow moments as well. I wasn’t bored by anything that happened.

There was violence in several scenes of The Return of the King. Swords, arrows, and catapults were used in a huge battle at Minas Tirith. Thousands of orcs in Sauron’s army marched to the city to attack. Men were also part of Sauron’s army. They were vicious when attacking and many men were killed or badly injured. The bodies of the dead were shown at different times. Several horses were harmed as well. At one point, Sauron’s army put severed heads into their catapults and shot them into Minas Tirith. Frodo and Sam ended up in some situations that turned violent. Merry and Pippin both ended up involved in the battle at Minas Tirith. Gandalf showed that he could fight with more than just magic. Some people might think that the movie is too violent. I do think that this wasn’t a movie that young children should see because of the violence.

There really wasn’t romance in The Return of the King. Eowyn’s feelings for Aragorn were addressed at one point. There was some more in the movie that dealt with the relationship between Aragorn and Arwen, but that was a small part of the movie overall. The movie was serious for the most part, but there were a few things in the movie that were funny. Most of those moments came from something that Gimli said, but he wasn’t providing as much comic relief as he did in The Two Towers. He really only had a few lines that were funny this time. Gandalf, and even Gollum, said a few things that were a bit funny as well. Those things did help to lighten the mood briefly. There were a few things that I thought were sad in this movie. I know part of it is because this was the last movie. I’ve come to love the characters so much, I hate that they won’t be back in any more movies.

The locations in The Return of the King were stunning like they were in the first two movies. The movie was set in the fictional world of Middle-Earth. Helm’s Deep wasn’t shown at all. Isengard was only in one scene near the beginning of the movie. Edoras in Rohan turned up again for some scenes near the beginning of the movie. Most of the movie took place either in Minas Tirith in Gondor or in Mordor. Minas Tirith looked amazing. I have read some things about the making of the movies, so I know some about how the locations were created. A small model as well as a huge life size set for the city was constructed. It looked like a real city that had been there for years. Mordor was a dark, barren place. It looked evil, which was perfect since that is where Sauron was. The sets and locations in the movie were wonderful. This movie, like the first two, was filmed in New Zealand. Overall, the movie looked beautiful.

The score of The Return of the King was exceptional, like it was in the first two movies. The music was loud at times, but it wasn’t overbearing. The music fit in perfectly with what was going on in the movie. At one time Pippin sang a song, and I heard another song later in the movie that had vocals. Most of the music was just instrumental. I did recognize some of the music in this movie from being in one of the first two movies. The sound was also exceptional in the movie. There were some things, like the creaking of a door, that didn’t seem that important, but they did add to the movie. During the battles, there were all kinds of noises including the stomping of the orcs’ feet, and the clang of swords. The movie was very loud at times, especially during the battles. There were some high pitched screeching sounds when the Witch King turned up. I’m not sure if he or the creature he was riding made the noise, but it was very unpleasant to hear, like fingernails on a chalk board, only much worse.

There were many strange creatures in The Return of the King. Four of the main characters were hobbits, small people with large, hairy, feet. Gimli was the only dwarf. Legolas and a few other characters were elves. Sauron’s army contained thousands of orcs. They were very ugly creatures. I don’t think I saw two that looked the same. There were some trolls involved in the attack on Minas Tirith. There were also some huge animals that looked similar to elephants. I know that the creatures in the movie weren’t real, but they looked like they were. The different types of characters were different sizes. Things were done to make the hobbits look smaller than everyone else. Gimli was taller than the hobbits, but shorter than other characters, and things were done to achieve that. The different types of characters moved differently, dressed differently, and used different types of weapons. Some of the characters were also men.

Some of the characters in The Return of the King weren’t in much of the movie at all, like Galadriel. She was barely in this movie. Arwen and Elrond weren’t in much either, but I think there were in more of this movie than there were in The Two Towers. Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli received less attention this time. Gandalf was in much more of the movie, and that made me happy because I like him. Boromir was shown briefly in a flashback, and his younger brother Faramir had a few scenes. There father, Denethor, had a few more scenes, but he wasn’t in that much of the movie overall. He turned up in a flashback scene in the extended version DVD of The Two Towers. Saruman wasn’t in the movie at all. I had heard before the movie ever opened that some scenes featuring him had been cut, but that they would be in the extended version when it came out on DVD next year. I think that Eowyn was in less of this movie than she was in The Two Towers, but I could be wrong. Her brother, Eomer, turned up in more scenes this time, but he wasn’t in them for long. Sam, Frodo, and Gollum were featured in a lot of the movie. Bilbo, Frodo’s uncle, turned up briefly.

Special effects were used throughout The Return of the King. They were very well done and blended in well. There were some things that I was sure were created with special effects of some kind, but they did look very realistic. Gollum was a CGI character again, but he seemed to be a real person. He is best looking CGI character I have ever seen in a movie. In the battle at Minas Tirith, Sauron’s huge army attacked the city. That battle made the one at Helm’s Deep from The Two Towers look like child’s play. The number of orcs and men involved in that battle was mind blowing. I do know that a computer program that was specifically designed for these movies was used for the battle at Minas Tirith. The program was used to create and control many of the characters involved in the fighting. Make-up effects were used for some of the characters, like some orcs that were shown close up. Some characters, like Gandalf and Gimli, wore wigs and beards. The make-up that was done in the movie was very well done.

The Return of the King is the third movie in The Lord of the Rings trilogy. The movies were based on the books by J.R.R. Tolkien. I have not read the books yet, so I don’t know what things might have been changed. I have heard enough to know that something that happened in this movie actually happened at the end of The Two Towers book. The Lord of the Rings was really one long book that was divided up into three parts when it was published. The books told one story. The movies tell the same one story as well. They are parts of one long movie. If only one of the movies is watched, only part of the story is shown. All three movies need to be watched, in order, to see the full story. The Two Towers picks up right after The Fellowship of the Ring ended. The Return of the King showed a little about how Gollum got the ring, and then it picked up where The Two Towers ended. There was no recap of what happened in the first two movies. People who haven’t seen those movies would probably be lost by what was going on. These movies should be watched in order.

The Lord of the Rings books have been popular for years. Many people didn’t think the story could be brought to life in a movie. Peter Jackson decided he wanted to make the movies and he worked for years to bring them to life. He decided to film them entirely in New Zealand and film all three movies at once, something that had not been done before. It was a gamble that paid off. The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers were very popular and made billions world wide. I believe that The Return of the King is going to do just as well, if not better. This movie was one of the most anticipated movies ever made, and I think it lived up to all the hype. The movie was a stunning masterpiece. Peter Jackson created a brilliant trilogy with these movies. The Return of the King is the best movie I have seen this year, and I think The Lord of the Rings trilogy is the best movie trilogy ever made. I have seen and enjoyed other movie trilogies, but none come close to The Lord of the Rings.

I thought that the acting in The Return of the King was good. Some of the actors, like Cate Blanchett, Liv Tyler, Hugo Weaving, and David Wenham didn’t have too many scenes in the movie, but they were still very good with what they did have. Ian McKellan was great once again as Gandalf. Viggo Mortensen was wonderful as Aragorn. He became the character. He portrayed Aragorn’s struggle to accept his destiny very well. He had some emotional scenes that were very believable. Elijah Wood was good as Frodo. He went through a lot on his journey as the ring changed him. Sean Astin was very good as Sam. He was very believable and emotional at times. Gollum was a CGI character, but Andy Serkis performed as Gollum on the sets and again in the studio hooked up to a computer. He had a lot to do with how Gollum ended up looking in the movie.

CHARACTERS

Frodo - A hobbit traveling to Mount Doom in Mordor to destroy the ring of power. Frodo was determined to finish his quest, but carrying the ring was a heavy burden. It caused changes in him.

Sam - Frodo’s friend who was traveling with him. Sam was the only member of the original fellowship to continue on with Frodo. Sam was determined to help Frodo reach Mount Doom and destroy the ring. Sam was very loyal to Frodo. Sam didn’t trust Gollum.

Gollum - He use to be known as Smeagol. Gollum had the ring of power for many years before he lost it. The ring changed Gollum, and was obsessed with getting the ring back. He was guiding Sam and Frodo to Mount Doom, but Gollum had plans to get the ring back.

Aragorn - Heir to the throne of Gondor. Aragorn was raised with the elves at Rivendell and was a ranger for a while. He was in love with a female elf. He struggled a lot with his destiny. He was a strong, determined man. He was a good leader. He was determined to do what was needed to defend Gondor, and give Frodo more time to destroy the ring.

Arwen - Elf that Aragorn was in love with. She was supposed to leave Middle-Earth with her people.

Elrond - Arwen’s father and king of the elves at Rivendell.

Legolas - An elf who was part of the original fellowship. He was loyal to Aragorn and a strong fighter.

Gimli - Dwarf that was part of the original fellowship. He was loyal to Aragorn and became friends with Legolas even though dwarves and elves didn’t usually like each other.

Gandalf the White - A powerful wizard who was working to defeat Sauron.

Galadriel - She was a very beautiful and knowledgeable elf.

Pippin - A hobbit that was in the original fellowship. He went to Minas Tirith with Gandalf.

Merry - Another hobbit that was in the original fellowship. He stayed in Rohan when Pippin left with Gandalf. Merry wanted to fight.

Theoden - King of Rohan. He was a strong leader who lead his men to Minas Tirith to fight against Sauron’s army.

Eowyn - She was Theoden’s niece. She had feelings for Aragorn. She was a strong woman who wanted to fight to protect her people.

Denethor - The Stewart of Gondor. He had all the power and control in Gondor for years and he didn’t want to give it up to the returning king. He was very hard on his sons, especially Faramir. Denethor didn’t want to do anything to fight off Sauron’s army.

Faramir - Son of Denethor and younger brother of Boromir. Faramir felt like he couldn’t do anything to please his father, but he never stopped trying.

The Return of the King was a wonderful movie. It lived up to my expectations. This is the best movie I have seen this year. The movie has been getting some rave reviews from the press, and it deserves all of them. It has already won some awards, and I think it should win many more. If this movie doesn’t win several Oscars, there is really something wrong.

The Lord of the Rings Reviews
The Lord of the Rings Official Movie Guide ~ The Lord of the Rings: The Making of the Movie Trilogy ~ The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring ~ The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers ~

Other Related Reviews
X2: X-Men United ~ Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl ~ The Missing ~ The Medallion ~ Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World ~ Gothika ~

Recommended:
Yes

Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older