After all these years, Frodo (still) lives. And thanks to the preternaturally talented writer-director Peter Jackson, he's living very well these days. There is one big problem with “The Return Of The King,” the third installment of Jackson’s sweeping adaptation of JRR Tolkien’s saga “The Lord Of The Rings” — it ends. Though it’s one of the lengthier films ever made, I assure you that after seeing it, most everyone will agree that 200 minutes have never passed so quickly. At the risk of offending other triptych virtuosos and their fans, in this observer’s mind “Return of The King” seals the deal: Jackson has delivered the most spectacular film trilogy of all time.
“The Return of The King” begins with a bit of a surprise departure from the source material, which I won’t give away, then picks up where “The Two Towers” left off. Frodo (Elijah Wood) and Sam (Sean Astin) have been led by Gollum (Andy Serkis) to the edge of Mordor, where — should they somehow find a way past legions of orcs and other nasty creatures — all sorts of unknown treachery awaits. Having defeated the enemy at Helm’s Deep, Gandalf (Ian McKellen) et. al, track down the hobbits, Merry (Dominic Monaghan) and Pippin (Billy Boyd), and celebrate victory over Saruman at Isengard. The party is short-lived, however, because the Dark Lord, Sauron, is gathering his forces for an all-attack on Middle Earth. So the Fellowship rallies again, preparing for what will be the final battle of good versus evil.
As in the previous two films, the visuals in “The Return Of The King” are simply breathtaking — from the monumental battle sequences at Minas Tirith and the Black Gate of Mordor, to Frodo’s frightening encounter (won’t give that one away either) in the dark-est depths of the most sinister place imaginable. It’s all so stunning to behold, and a crowning achievement in cinema. Surely, from here on out epic fantasies will be judged by a wholly different set of criteria. As for the performances, I’m of the opinion that Ian McKellen was robbed of the Best Supporting Actor Oscar in 2002. Perhaps this time around, he’ll fare better. The rest of the cast, well, they all became big, big stars riding this franchise and with good reason. Wood and John Rhys-Davies (Gimli) are stand outs in the finale. One more thing: You might want to bring some tissue along, because the tear ducts are practically guaranteed to overflow at the end.
Simply put, if a better film than “The Return Of The King” has been released this year, I haven't seen it. (Rated PG-13 for intense epic battle sequences and frightening images. Running time: 201 minutes)
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on December 17, 2003. Read the original PDF.