The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) starring Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Viggo Mortensen, Sean Astin, John Rhys-Davies, Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan, Orlando Bloom, Bernard Hill, Andy Serkis directed by Peter Jackson Movie Review

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)   4/54/54/54/54/5


Bernard Hill and Viggo Mortensen in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)

Let Battle Commence

Those who have read my reviews of "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" and "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" will already know what I am going to say about "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King", yes great feat of movie making by Peter Jackson but this sort of fantasy is not my sort of thing. Having said that I would like to add that "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" was my favourite of the three movies but that is down to the fact that it had a lot of action and for someone who isn't that fussed about the story is a God send. So rather than just recycle what I have mentioned in those previous reviews and sound like a broken record in doing so this will be a bit different, this will be me paying respect.

Firstly my respects go to the late John Ronald Reuel Tolkien. I may have never been enraptured by his tales of middle-earth, hobbits and white wizards but there is no denying that not only has it captured the hearts and minds of many but is truly an epic story. I wish I could have got into it as a child but sadly it was never to be but I can respect his vision and talent.

Sean Astin as Samwise Gamgee in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)

On the subject of vision comes my second respect and that is to Peter Jackson, it takes a man of great vision and passion to helm such a huge trilogy which is truly a modern epic. There maybe times when for me his vision was a bit drawn out but the passion Jackson has for the story shines through in every second of this lavish production which is lush in detail.

That brings me to my third respect and that is to all the people who worked behind the scenes from location scouts, set designers, makeup team as well as the CGI guys. Visually there is no doubt the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy is amazing, occasionally it looks a little too computer graphicy but it has an awesome look. But it is an awesome look which tells the story and never becomes about a single wow factor, it is what makes these movies standout compared to other recent big movies which are soaked in CGI because the look and story work hand in hand.

Then there is the actors, a whole host of actors from those we don't see such as Andy Serkis to the stars such as Elijah Wood, Viggo Mortensen and Ian Holm. There is not a single bad performance in these movies and there are some exceptional casting choices such as Bernard Hill, John Rhys-Davies and most significantly Sean Astin who in many ways deserves a lot more praise for playing Samwise Gamgee because without Sam there is no Frodo.

And I am sure there are a lot more people who deserve respect and praise because whilst again these movies were not my sort of thing as a whole they are impressive examples of movie making. As such to all those I haven't mentioned and there are plenty my respect goes out to you.


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