After a brief opening flashback that explains Gollum's origins, The Return Of The King continues where The Two Towers left off. The hobbits Frodo and Sam are still on their journey to Mordor to destroy The Ring, guided by the treacherous Gollum, and Gandalf and Aragorn lead the humans in the war against the Orcs. The film follows these two strands throughout, although as the characters diverge the story becomes more complex, culminating with two spectacular battles and Frodo's arrival at Mordor.
If you liked the first two films, you'll love Return Of The King. The battle sequences are astonishing, completely dwarfing the second film's Battle Of Helms Deep. The epic landscapes are as stunning as ever, particularly one awe-inspiring sequence in which a succession of giant mountaintop beacons is lit. Gollum, perhaps the series' crowning achievement, is given plenty of screen time, demonstrating once again the filmmakers' unprecedented ability to create a frighteningly realistic CGI character. And, of course, unlike The Two Towers, this final part of the trilogy delivers a satisfying ending with each of the stories fully concluded.
The whole trilogy has been an astonishing technical achievement, but once again I found myself shifting in my seat, for the narrative problems that plagued the first two films are still evident. The film is over three hours long, with lots of tedious exposition and an interminable epilogue. The dialogue is banal at best, and the cod Shakespeare begins to grate early on, as does the cloying sentimentality. Worst of all, none of the characters is particularly engaging. Frodo is the apparent hero, but he's never properly tested because at key moments he is passive, making duff decisions, only to be rescued by the inexplicably loyal Sam. The most interesting character is Denethor, the unworthy King who resents his son, but this complex character is quickly reduced to a pantomime villain.
Nonetheless The Return Of The King is the best film of the series, a faithful rendering of the book, and well worth seeing for the battle sequences alone; but the weak storytelling leaves it some way short of greatness.
If you liked the first two films, you'll love Return Of The King. The battle sequences are astonishing, completely dwarfing the second film's Battle Of Helms Deep. The epic landscapes are as stunning as ever, particularly one awe-inspiring sequence in which a succession of giant mountaintop beacons is lit. Gollum, perhaps the series' crowning achievement, is given plenty of screen time, demonstrating once again the filmmakers' unprecedented ability to create a frighteningly realistic CGI character. And, of course, unlike The Two Towers, this final part of the trilogy delivers a satisfying ending with each of the stories fully concluded.
The whole trilogy has been an astonishing technical achievement, but once again I found myself shifting in my seat, for the narrative problems that plagued the first two films are still evident. The film is over three hours long, with lots of tedious exposition and an interminable epilogue. The dialogue is banal at best, and the cod Shakespeare begins to grate early on, as does the cloying sentimentality. Worst of all, none of the characters is particularly engaging. Frodo is the apparent hero, but he's never properly tested because at key moments he is passive, making duff decisions, only to be rescued by the inexplicably loyal Sam. The most interesting character is Denethor, the unworthy King who resents his son, but this complex character is quickly reduced to a pantomime villain.
Nonetheless The Return Of The King is the best film of the series, a faithful rendering of the book, and well worth seeing for the battle sequences alone; but the weak storytelling leaves it some way short of greatness.