Lord of the Rings: Return Of The King

[TheUnknown 39]

So, what did you think?

[Andy 60]

I haven't seen it yet... Might go tomorrow... Or Saturday...

[Aurelius 1]

I have to wait till the 26th! :p

[Andy 60]

lol, is it not out yet?

If not, I find that kinda funny seeing is it was filmed over in your corner of the world.

[Princess 35]

I'm going to go later today. As soon as the roads clear up

[Mara 29]

I saw it 12:02 this morning, my time.

Gotta say... It's so freaking awesome!

[Roethlisberger 0]

I going to see it Saturday.

YAY!

It got better reviews than any other film that came out this year!

[Aurelius 1]

lol, is it not out yet?

If not, I find that kinda funny seeing is it was filmed over in your corner of the world.

Nope, it premiered over in NZ a few weeks back yet they dont even bother to put it here early, they are useless. :p

[TheUnknown 39]

SPOILERS AHEAD

It's outstanding. Gandalf and Legalos kicked the most ass. There are still some things that I dont get, though. First, why did the ring corrupt Smeagal but not Bilboe, at least to that level? Second, they talk about Arwen dying because of the ring's power, but why are Elrond, Legalos, and other elves fine? Third, where the hell are the elves going on those ships?

And did anyone else catch the parallel to RoTJ when Eowyn is tending to her dying father?

[Roethlisberger 0]

ROTK came first. (In case you didn't know) So if anything ROTJ borrowed a lot from ROTK (possibly the title as well). The elves are going to the west. They are going to the land of Aman. They are leaving Middle-Earth to go to the Undying Lands. Arwen's dying because of the Ring's power? I don't remember that from the books. Arwen appears in about 12 pages of the book, so they give an entirely different reason for the mortality of Arwen.

[Andy 60]

why did the ring corrupt Smeagal but not Bilboe, at least to that level?

Well, at the beginning of FotR, didn't it say that it kept Gollum alive for centuries or something? Perhaps it would have affected Bilbo that much eventually.

ROTK came first. (In case you didn't know) So if anything ROTJ borrowed a lot from ROTK (possibly the title as well).

Hmm... Not neccesarily. The book was written before RotJ, but filmmakers are known for adding their own details to books when they make them into movies.

As for the title being borrowed too... Well, it was originaly going to be called Revenge of the Jedi, so maybe GL liked RotKs title better. heh.

[Wyld_Knight 1]

Ok. I saw it yesterday, but I needed a day to collect my thoughts! lol. I'm going to try and give an honest review, so that those who want to go and see it can have the opinion of a filmlover, as well as those of a paid film critic. I must warn you though that there are spoilers, cos it's kind of hard to review without them!

So here goes.

PJ continues on his theme of understated openings to the films. Here, we go back in time for some backstory to a main character, which was I felt quite sinister, but lets face it, the third installment is the darkest of the three.

We then see whereabouts we left all of our main characters. Frodo and Sam and Gollum are still bickering, and I still can't believe that Gollum is a CG character, his interaction with the live actors is amazing!

The other half of the fellowship all meet up at Isengard (nice merry and pip moment, lol) where the scene with Saruman has indeed been cut, but it's been left open nicely to be added in for the DVD. They all then hot foot it back to Edoras where they celebrate, and where Theoden again is doing his anti war stance. Pip does something stupid and he and gandalf go to Minas Tirith, which can i just say looks AMAZING. The stills that you may have seen online do not do it justice. At minas tirith we meet the steward Denethor, who if you have read the books is not really like I would have pictured him, at least in respect of his relationship with pippin. I think maybe there's more DVD stuff to come, to round out his character a bit more.

We then go back to frodo et al who are going through Cirith Ungol, and we see some fabulous up close n' personal shots of the Nazgul. I would NOT like them under my bed that's for sure. The evolution of the relationship between these 3 does not follow the book 100%, but I do think that what PJ has done works on screen, and Gollum is just amazing. i'm soooo impressed with him. There's a great bit at this point in the film, where the alarm at the Watchtower is raised (that green shooting light you see in the trailer) and it's a great piece of film. Then Mordor pretty much empties and gajillions of enemies march towards Gondor. ACK!!!!

Back in Minas Tirith, Gandalf can see that Denethor is quite loopy so pretty much takes over command of the city. My favourite scene fo the movie then happens - the lighting of the beacons of Gondor, which raises the alarm at Edoras, calling Theoden to war once more. I had tears in my eyes, honestly! It was such a stirring piece of filmmaking. So now all the story threads are coming together: Lots of enemies on their way (they defeat the garrison at Osgiliath where we left Faramir at the end of TTT), Minas Tirith under siege, help on it's way from Rohan.

But what of Aragorn? Well, he's not really sure what he's doing, so in comes some elvish motivation and some half-departures from the book which again work for the film cos the story needs to move along, and he and his faithful friends gimli and legolas go to the Paths of the Dead. Ugly is all i'm going to say. I was reminded of the Frighteners (also a PJ film) in this scene! And just like in the books, you kind of forget about aragorn and co for a while.

The pace of the film quickens with the siege of Minas Tirith. Great stuff you don't really need described to you in detail, just go see it and marvel at its brilliance!

The frodo/sam/gollum thing comes to a head, and frodo and gollum go on alone, telling sam to go home. (not in the books in case you're confused, lol). We then get to shelobs lair, and i HATED it. not because it wasn't fabulous, but just because i HATE spiders. EEEEEEEEEEEK. I was terrified!

Anyhoo, the tales of all the other characters are kind of tied up together when the Rohirrim arrive at Minas Tirith (including Eowyn and Merry in disguise) and Aragorn and his pals arrive from another route, and the siege is ended for a time. Lots more great effects and shots, and a great lspeech from Theoden to his soldiers, and a great line from Eowyn to her Foe (I am no man!!!!). Come on our lass!!! Great stuff.

Back with frodo, he gets captured by orcs and sam (who didn't really go home, you didn't think he would, did ya? doh! ) comes to his rescue. Frodo by this point is a total wreck, and sam pretty much takes over. Sean Astin is totally up for oscar nomination i think. They trudge through mordor in about 5 minutes of screen time, where it took a few chapters in the book

The other characters devise a plan to help buy the hobbits some time, so cue more fighting only this time outside the Black Gate of Mordor. Phwaor!!!@aragorn in his lovely gondorian costume. I swooned i do believe.

So we all know what happens next, and it's a totally captivating screen experience, you are literally at the edge of your seat. And then: screen fades to black. False ending number 1.

We then cut to frodo and sam on the volcano, getting saved by the eagles. Screen fades to black. False ending number 2.

Back in minas tirith. yay! Reunion! Then aragorn gets crowned and marries arwen. and we see eowyn looking all happy next to faramir - which will get explained in the DVD but is not in the theatrical version for all you romance fans. ,sorry. Then the camera pans away from minas tirith and becomes a map again, much as it did in the FOTR DVD version at the start, and we journey back up the map to the Shire, and some nice stuff back home, to placate the fans of the books i'd imagine. There's room for some extra DVD footage here in my opinion, to explain more why Frodo feels his life cannot go back to what it was, etc.

We then go to the grey havens and have some lovely farewell scenes. I almost thought the ship sailing off into the distance was going to be the last shot, but NO! PJ pays the ultimate homage to the books,and has the last scene pretty much identical to that of the book. Joy!

So, thoughts ont he film overall? Magnificent. Yes there are scenes cut/added, but it makes for a totally enjoyable cinema experience, and roll on next november for the DVD i say!

[Mara 29]

SPOILERS AHEAD

It's outstanding. Gandalf and Legalos kicked the most ass. There are still some things that I dont get, though. First, why did the ring corrupt Smeagal but not Bilboe, at least to that level? Second, they talk about Arwen dying because of the ring's power, but why are Elrond, Legalos, and other elves fine? Third, where the hell are the elves going on those ships?

And did anyone else catch the parallel to RoTJ when Eowyn is tending to her dying father?

Smeagol had the ring for a lot longer.

Arwen, at that point, is now mortal, while the other elves are still immortal.

The elves are going to the gray havens, most likely.

As for the parallel, yes.

I also saw one parallel to the battle on Hoth, with the oliphants.... or maybe I'm weird. ; )

[Pandora 77]

SPOILERS AHEAD

It's outstanding. Gandalf and Legalos kicked the most ass. There are still some things that I dont get, though. First, why did the ring corrupt Smeagal but not Bilboe, at least to that level? Second, they talk about Arwen dying because of the ring's power, but why are Elrond, Legalos, and other elves fine? Third, where the hell are the elves going on those ships?

And did anyone else catch the parallel to RoTJ when Eowyn is tending to her dying father?

Yeah, Gandalf and Legolas did much ass-kicking, but let's not forget Aragorn. He was REALLY cool.

The ring corrupted Smaegol so much because, one, he murdered someone to get it, and two he had it a LOT longer. A LOT.

Arwen is dying because she gave up her immortality for Aragorn. If you haven't read the books (which I haven't) her pledge to him in FotR looks kinda symbolic, it can make you wonder "is she literally giving up her immortality." Apparently, the answer is yes. My first guess would be that she's loosing hope, so that's why Elrond tells Aragorn she'll die if the ring isn't destroyed. *shrugs* that last bit is JUST a guess.

The Elves are going to Valinor. I've heard some theories that because it's a land inhabited by spirits that they're going to commit suicide. Kind of a sick thought if you ask me. Personally, I don't have a clue what they're going to do when they get there, but they can't stay in Middle Earth anymore.

And now that you mention it, I can kinda see the RotJ parellel. But if it was intentional, it was definately GL's intention, because, yes, LotR came first.

(I've got to do some chores and then I'm going to spend a nice hour or so giving my THOROUGH opinon on the ENTIRE movie! (yay, aren't y'all so excited?)

[TheUnknown 39]

You mean you didn't see the parallel right away? And you can yourself of SW fan.

Oh, and for the ass-kicking, how can I forget Eowyn?

[Pandora 77]

Brace yoursleves, here it comes... (HEAVY spoilers, btw)...

FRODO: His character is pretty simple, so is Sam's, but I think that the deapth of their friendship is really revealed at the end. To be honest, I didn't really care much about them in the first two, just their mission. But this one I really REALLY got into.

MERRY: He was absolutely PRECIOUS running off to the smithy to get his sword sharpened right before the battle.

PIPPIN: He finally found his courage in the end. Yea for Pippin!! And he saved Faramir! I like how he never gave up, even when an entire city wouldn't listen to him when he tried to convince them Faramir was still alive.

GIMLI: LIke in the TTT, he cracked a lot of jokes. Not as many as TTT, but they were still there. But they were kinda needed to relieve a bit of tension. HIs role isn't central in the movie, obviously, but he still plays a big part in the war, which PJ got across by emphasizing his character so well.

LEGOLAS: A.k.a., His Hotness. If you haven't caught the trend yet, he's got one uber-cool move in each film. The first one was jumping on the troll to shoot it in the head (also debatable is killing... 11 Uruks [i think] at Amon Hen), the second one was OBVIOUSLY surfing down the stairs on the shield. In RotK, it's gotta be bringing down the Oliphant by himself--climbing up, counting kills on the way, cutting off the saddle-thing, then bringing the beast down to slide to a halt in front of an astonished Gimli. "That still counts as one!"

GANDALF: He's taking a LOT of charge this time. He's given up trying to reason with rulers, and goes straight to taking over. Which is probably a good idea, since he's kinda a white wizard and all . And if I could, I'd thank him for beating up Denethor TWICE, because SOMEONE needed to do it!

FARAMIR: Now I said when TTT came out, that between he and Boromir, Faramir definitely got the better genes. Boromir was a jerk right until the end, but Faramir filled his head with noble notions a lot more quickly. And I'm not afraid to admit, I cried for him when his father told him he wished he was dead and Boromir alive.

EOWYN: Okay, the wench redeemed herself. Through TTT and the beginning of RotK she really pissed me off, flirting with Aragorn like that. I mean sure, Aragorn could have told her no from the start, but he was obviously trying not to get heart-broken over leaving Arwen. but she should have gotten the hint in TTT when Aragorn got all misty when she asked him about the necklace!!! But when Aragorn finally told her no he couldn't love her, and she backed off, she was cool in my book. I feel for her, I really do, the poor thing's a little on the heart-broken side, but Aragorn just belongs with Arwen, that's all there is to it! And towards the end, I started to actually LIKE her, because she was encouraging Merry to fight, and ESPECIALLY when she stood her ground agaisnt the Witch King.

DENETHOR: OKay, is this not THE BIGGEST jackass you've ever seen??? I mean COME ON! He told his own son he wished him dead!!! He sent all those men to their deaths because Faramir wasn't Boromir. I was glad to seem him die. Burning to death was a good way to go for him. I only wished he'd been killed sooner.

SMEAGOL/GOLLUM: Not much to say about him, he's just a little rat, that's all.

ARWEN: When she turned away from the other Elves and rode back to Rivendell, I was cheering her on. I'm so happy she decided to just go against her father's will.

ELROND: I decided in TTT that he's a bit of an idiot, and in RotK I decided he's a bit of a selfish idiot. But he redeemed himself by going to talk to Aragorn and reforging the sword. It sucks that Arwen had to be so close to death for him to realize he made a mistake, but at least it was fixed before it was too late.

GALADRIEL: Obviously she was a really minor character, but Frodo's little hallucination of her helping him up was really sweet.

THEODEN: He was off to a bad start with the whole, "We owe Gondor nothing" bit, but he too redeemed himself when he decided to help Gondor. His change of heart was a little abrupt, but hey, it still happened. His death scene was good too: "Now I'll go rejoin my fathers and not fear their shame," or something to that effect. (To make that scene REALLY sweet, he could have mention meeting Theodred again too, but that's okay.)

And the big one...

ARAGORN...Elessar...: One of the main underlying themes in the movie was, essentially, casting away your fear of the man you COULD become, giving up the man you THINK you are, and becoming who you SHOULD be. Notice some things about his appearance to illustrate that (obviously his appearance has literal explanations, but there's symbolism there too): In FotR, he's grimy and covered in blood and dirty and the beard gets a little greasy (which in no way takes away from his sexi-ness, lol) except when he's in Rivendell or Lothlorien. It's like they're trying to hint to you that the Elves think he can be something he's afraid to try. When he's all grimy and greasy and bloody, it kinda feels like he's not only fighting evil and Orcs, but himself. The same is true in TTT, but in TTT, did you notice that when he's commanding the Elves, even when he's fighting in the mud, he's not all that dirty. Yeah, he's a little sweaty and smudgy, but for the most part, he's pretty tidy, considering his surroundings. To me that feels like that's where he belongs, in a seat of power. Giving those orders in Elvish atop Helm's Deep... he's REALLY in his element, that's where she should be. The in RotK, when he leads both attacks, one on the Gates, and the other to help Minas Tirith I don't believe there's a real cake of dirt on him. No grease, no grime, just kingliness. In the mountains too, going to demand the ghosts' help. There's no telling WHAT he crawled through to get there, but there's none of it on him when he says, "You will suffer ME." In front of the Black Gate, we're really TOLD that he's not afraid of becoming Isildor. When the Eye calls to him like the ring did at Amon Hen: "Aragorn.... Elessar...." He looks a little shakey for a minute, then he turns around, smiles and says, "For Frodo," and charges right through the wall of Orcs. The coronation was just a formality, right then, he really was King, he was Elendil, just like the Elves told him he would be.

These are my favorite lines... (not all verbatum, but as close as I can remember)

Aragorn: The beacon is lit! Gondor calls for aid!

Theoden: Then Rohan will answer.

~

Gimli: That still counts as one!

~

Legolas: 93...94...95...

~

Ghosty-dude:The dead do not suffer the living to pass.

Aragorn: You will suffer me.

~

Sam: I can't carry it for you, but I can carry you!

~

Gandalf: Ride, Shadowfax, show us the meaning of haste.

~

Eomer: I fear for the length of his [Merry's] arm.

~

Merry: (to Pippin) Why do you always have to look?

~

Gandalf: (of Pippin) He's a fool, but an honest fool.

~

Gandalf: (to Pippin) Maybe it's better if you just don't say anything at all.

~

Aragorn: My friends, you bow to no one.

~

Gimli: An Elf going underground when a Dwarf dare not? Ohhh I'll never here the end of it! (chages in after Legolas and Aragorn)

~

Favorite Scenes/Actions...

Aragorn bowing to the Hobbits, with the rest of the city following suit.

~

Legolas bringing down the Oliphant.

~

Gimli scolding Merry and Pippin because they'd been looking everywhere for the Hobbits and find them eating and drinking themselves stupid...er.

~

Gandalf thwacking Denethor with his staff.

~

Sam and Rosie's wedding (awwwwwwwww).

~

Aragorn and Arwen's reunion... and the kiss (he might as well have tackled her, lol).

~

Arwen's vision: The little boy running across the "road" to a small group of trees that becomes a room with a man standing with his back turned, in shadow. The man turns around to catch the little boy in his arms and you realize it's Aragorn and their son. The fatherly love on his face just moved me to tears. Literally.

~

The reforging of the sword.

~

Sam picking up Frodo and carrying him up the mountain.

~

The scene where Frodo wakes up and everyone comes in to see him. I especially liked thed changes of costume here: The Hobbits nice and comfortable; Legolas in the little crown-type thingy, with his hair a little different (not as battle-ready) and that open-necked tunic... *drools*; Aragorn, with his hair longer (notice his hair is longer after he takes the sword from Elrond) and the burgandy velvet robes, looking all kingly and like he's going to settle down and finally start a family. Gimli and Gandalf don't really change costume....

When I locate some good screen caps, I'll post them.

[Roethlisberger 0]

As for the ships, they are leaving the Grey Havens heading to Valinor, or the Blessed Realm, aka Aman. (Tolkien was very name-happy)

[Roethlisberger 0]

DENETHOR: OKay, is this not THE BIGGEST jackass you've ever seen??? I mean COME ON! He told his own son he wished him dead!!! He sent all those men to their deaths because Faramir wasn't Boromir. I was glad to seem him die. Burning to death was a good way to go for him. I only wished he'd been killed sooner.

You know, for the Spawn of Satan, you really are harsh on villains just because they're mean. Denethor, like Saruman, was just corrupted by Sauron. Denethor had looked into the Palantir, so he went Psycho. (Now there are two variants of Psycho: Denethor Pyre Psycho, and Shower Stabbing Psycho) I guess the movie doesn't tell you how great a man he was before that. OF course, the death scene is one of the best in the book.

SMEAGOL/GOLLUM: Not much to say about him, he's just a little rat, that's all.

Woohoo! Smeagol rules! He is definitely my favorite non-Fellowship person. Maybe besides Mouth of Sauron, or Bilbo.

[Wyld_Knight 1]

I guess the movie doesn't tell you how great a man he was before that

Yeah, tis a shame really. He did come across as a bit one-dimensional. And I was NOT liking that scene with the song by Pippin, when he's eating. I found it disturbing...Not at all how i would have imagined his character :|

[Eldar Galadhon 0]

I read on MSN that Saruman isn't in this movie. Is that true?

[TheUnknown 39]

'Tis true. Kinda annoys me that they get relatively big names like Liv Tyler, Cate Blanchett, Hugo Weaving, and Christopher Lee and give them like twenty minutes combined screen time in TTT and RoTK. It's false advertising.

[Roethlisberger 0]

By now, the name "Orlando Bloom" is the biggest on the cast. Another big name: Sir Ian McKellen. Is Wormtongue in this?

[Eldar Galadhon 0]

That stinks I wanted to see Saruman's downfall.....

[Drake 53]

Saruman and Wormtongue will be in the extended edition DVD as will the Houses of Healing.

I thought this was an amazing movie. Not very true to the book...but then again it's an adaptation and not a recreation.

Arwen's scenes annoyed me. "Give him the sword of the Kings..." Ack! He was supposed to get Anduril in the Fellowship! Ah well...I guess I'm still pissed at Jackson for replacing Glorfindel with her.

The bit with Sauron's eye acting as a spotlight was corny yet really funny.

Denethor's death scene was totally defiled. He was supposed to jump on the fire himself, not get kicked on by Shadowfax. He also ran pretty far while on fire. All the way through the Silent Street and out across the top of the tower...then over the edge. It was a mess.

Now for the stuff I liked, lol.

When Gwaihir and Eagles came and kicked some undead Nazgul ass at the Black Gate. When our friend the moth flew past Gandalf, I was forced to restrain myself from cheering. I just wish that there were more of them...like in the books. Hundreds of them would be nice.

Legolas climbing up the Oliphaunt by the arrows in it's hide then jacking all the Easterlings on it followed by a trio of arrows into the beast's head, a slide down it's trunk then landing unscathed. Brilliant!

When the Dead took down the Oliphaunt. It reminded me of waves crashing on rock.

The lighting of the signal beacons was definately a highlight. I'd hate to be the guys who have to live up on those mountains.

The death of the Witch King...Glorfindel would have been proud. (Glorfindel being the Elf who drove the WK out of Fornost 1000 years earlier by just looking at him).

My time is up...more to come later.

[Wyld_Knight 1]

The lighting of the signal beacons was definately a highlight. I'd hate to be the guys who have to live up on those mountains. 

Yeah! I bet it took them quite a while commuting every morning... :lol: