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This final chapter of the series proved to be the most epic, most intense,
and most drawn-out of the three Lord of the Rings films (see the reviews of part
one, The Fellowship
of the Ring, and part two, The Two
Towers. The movie opens by giving the back story of Gollum (Andy Serkis), when he
and a friend first encountered “his precious,” and it immediately sets the tone of the
film by showing the transformation from the serene beauty of Middle Earth to the gray
overcast tones of the first two films. As the film progresses, this continues to be a
powerful contrast between the white beauty of Gondor and the wizard Gandalf (Ian
McKellan) and the blackened skies of Mordor and the evil Sauron.
At
the end of the second film, the people of Rohan were able to win the battle against the
Orcs and Uruk-hai. In the parallel story, the Hobbits Merry (Dominic Monaghan) and Pippin
(Billy Boyd) joined with the Ents (or shepards of the forest) to defeat the evil white
wizard Saruman (Christopher Lee) at the Orthanc Tower in Isengard. This where the
fellowship is reunited as Merry and Pippin are enjoying some food and a
smoke.
In the meantime, Minas Tirith, the capital of Gondor, has been
taken over by the enemy, and the men of Gondor are in dire need of help. It’s up to
Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen) to unite the people -- and he must also convince the king of
Rohan to join him for battle at Gondor. Rohan’s king is not convinced, since Gondor did
nothing to help Rohan in their own fight.
This is the most
battle-intensive of the three films -- with about ¾ of the movie being extraordinary
battle scenes. Those who enjoyed the final fight in The Two Towers will stay
pleased throughout the film -- because it’s obvious that no cost was spared in creating
the final chapter of this trilogy. Minas Tirith was simply beautiful and amazing to see,
and it made Helm’s Deep look like a regular home in comparison.
Another
wonderful aspect of this film was watching the other Hobbits beside Frodo (Elijah Wood)
grow in this film. In many ways, Sam (Sean Astin) is the real reason behind Frodo’s
ability to continue on his quest to destroy the final ring. Pippin and Merry also find
ways to grow and contribute to the final battle for Middle Earth.
Aragorn
also shows amazing growth in this film. His ability to lead and inspire men living and
dead into a battle with overwhelming odds is great to see and enjoy. It also raises the
romantic level of this epic adventure when Aragorn stays true to his love for the elf
Arwen (Liv Tyler) -- even though Eowyn (Miranda Otto), daughter of the King of Rohan, has
definitely shown a passion for him.
The only thing that was weak about
this film was the ending itself. In order to avoid a spoiler, I won’t give away exactly
what happens, but director Peter Jackson really took too much time to wrap this story up.
The film is nearly three and a half hours long. The first three hours move very quickly,
but the last 30 minutes went way too slowly -- and that’s why I can’t give the film a
final grade of A.
Grade: B
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