Yar, you be here: The Lord of the Rings - The Return of the King (Widescreen Edition) > Customer Reviews
The Lord of the Rings - The Return of the King (Widescreen Edition) Customer Reviews (22 - 24 of 70 Reviews)
The Best Ever
This is it - for me, at any rate. I have loved JRR Tolkien's, "The Lord of the Rings" since my early adulthood (from the early '80s), and Peter Jackson's big screen translation is the one I've been waiting for for more than twenty years. I saw ROTK more than a dozen times at the theatre, and each time I was moved to tears, it was just so beautifully done! My favorite scenes include: Gandalf and Pippin riding Shadowfax to the top of Minas Tirith - the Howard Shore score, for which I can't praise enough in this review, perfectly matched my growing sense of amazement at seeing just how BIG the city really was, and how high up it got - simply majestic; one of my most favorite scenes was the one where Pippin lit the first beacon of Gondor, and watching, stunned, as the incredible score, combined with the amazing aerial cinematography, swept me up and made my spirit soar as the call for aid travelled hundreds of miles through the night across the mountaintops! When Theoden rode before his men, clanging his sword against theirs and their berserker cry of "DEATH!" before charging into certain doom - just thinking about it makes my eyes water! Sam's heroic climb, carrying Frodo up Mt. Doom; the expressions on Gandalf's, Aragorn's, and Merry's faces as they watch Barad-dur fall and Mt. Doom explode; the deep sense of acknowledgment as Aragorn, Arwen, and the peoples of Gondor, Rivendell, and Rohan bow to the Hobbits at Aragorn's coronation; and the deep-felt sense of loss - for an end to the beauty the elves brought to Middle-earth, and for the final ending of the Fellowship, as the last ship left the shores of Middle-earth to take all the Ring Bearers (except one - Sam, who bore the One Ring for a little while) to The Deathless Lands, never to return.
I am truly puzzled by anyone who found this film boring (???), childish (???!!!), or anything other than an instant classic and a masterpiece that will light the world's screens for decades and longer. It would be interesting to know just what kind of movies *they* liked! "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" or "2 Fast 2 Furious," perhaps. I enjoy a wide range of films, from Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius, to To Kill A Mockingbird, Whale Rider, Casablanca, and even Fried Green Tomatoes - but ROTK (and FOTR and TTT) are in a class by themselves. See them. Buy them. And get as much of the collectible merchandise as possible! It's an investment in the future, I'm tellin' ya! ;-)
Very Strong Ending to a Great Concept Movie
I was impressed with the first two Movies especially the first and the second. However, this one shifted between scenes with the development with the Kings return and final battle for middle earth and Frodo's problems with getting the ring to its final resting place.
This movie was also a lot 'darker' than the previous two.
The battle scene for this movie was extreme, a little too contrived, yet with 'magic' what do you expect. I was very surprised how this image seemed a little like Star Wars in reverse. The groups fighting each other good versus evil were somewhat switched. For instance, all of the people on the good side were basically white (did anyone see people of color in this movie?)
Also, the creatures and humans combined to attack the city for it's final demise seemed like those fighting with the Jedi, mostly strange looking creatures. Of course that is only a thought. Gandalf seemed a lot like Obiwan and Frodo fighting the evil of the ring seemed a little like Luke fighting the evil side of the force.
For those who read the Bible, you may get a hint of some 'Biblical themes.' For instance the whole world gathers together to fight at the return of the king for the final battle of good and evil. Sounds a little like the book of Revelation. As well there is an army of dead souls for lack of a better name who come in and win the day as the city is attacked. In Revelation, the King of kings, returns with 10s of thousands of angels to fight the final battle.
Interesting that Tolkien was a friend and contemporary of CS Lewis. His themes were a story to empasize good against evil and the overall struggle that leads to goods triumph.
Yet, this trilogy was especially great in the first two episodes.
More on those later.
Despite abysmal length, very good!
I walked out of the theater very pleased with this film when I saw it... and was very much again when I watched the DVD. I am still in awe of Peter Jackson's direction, the breathtakingly well-executed cinematography, plot, character development, and visual effects (which really help tie the story together). Many parts of this film were intense...even moreso than Two Towers. I would have to say my only reason for giving it a 4 is the length/ending... I and many other people thought from certain cues that the film ended in three different places, and that's where the length bothered me. Maybe had the ending not had so many false cues, length would be fine... it's a very fine balance here.
Overall, a very well-constructed film from beginning to end, and still holding out as strong as the first two films! I can't wait to see what else is added in the Extended version, expected to be released December 2004!
| Previous Page | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 | Next Page |
