Movie Minx

Starring: Sean Astin, Elijah Wood, Orlando Bloom, Ian McKellen
Directed by: Peter Jackson

Plot: The former Fellowship of the Ring prepare for the final battle for Middle Earth, while Frodo & Sam approach Mount Doom to destroy the One Ring.

But is it any good?

This is the one where they reach the volcano. Okay, I’m getting a bit sick of LOTR now. It will be interesting to see whether the trilogy still makes the top 10 lists in a decade or two. I’m guessing that a couple may drop further down the list, but perhaps not this one.

Return of the King is the most epic of the trilogy because of course the first two were leading up to the story’s climax at the volcano. The Fellowship are also less fresh-faced now. They’re getting a bit tired; Frodo in particular is bogged down by trust issues (Sam vs Gollum) and the sheer weight of the ring (literally, as it’s getting heavier, but also the responsibility of it).

I’m not a Tolkeinite or a fantasy freak so can’t comment on the subtleties of differences to the book(s). All I can say is that the film, like the other two, is a cinematic masterpiece. It could so easily have been a twee onscreen tale of elves and little hobbits but it’s not. It could also have been dominated by all the CGI but it wasn’t.

ROTK is definitely my favourite, probably because it’s the darkest of the three and as already discussed I’m partial to dark films. Just watch the beginning of ROTK where we see how Gollum became Gollum. Powerful and realistic stuff indeed.

IMdb’s rating: 8.9/10
My rating: 10/10

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