media consumption

...   music, books, pix & other media on the menu

December 23, 2003

Return of the King

We saw the Lord of the Rings: Return of the King last night. About halfway through, Kari turned to me and gave the most insightful review I can offer: "It's too much!"

It is too much, not just the multiple storylines and the bladder-straining running time, but the unrelenting tension and pressure is almost too much to bear over the first 2.5 hours of the movie. But how can there be too much of such a good thing? From a filmmaking perspective this is a stunning achievement. The special effects, scenery, art direction, sound engineering and even the acting are all first-rate and mind-blowing.

As a Tolkien geek (defined as someone who has read the trilogy at least 3x and the Silmarilion at least once), I'm still fuming at the absence of some critical scenes and the alteration of other plot elements. The director, Peter Jackson, courageously decided to adhere very closely to Tolkien's original text, but some changes had to be made to make the story filmable. In fact, some of his changes actually improved the story and enhanced the screen adaption of the book.

Walking the line between appeasing Tolkien geeks like me and appealing to a wider movie audience could have resulted in disaster. If you've seen the movie already or are unafraid of spoilers, feel free to read my rant about what I liked and did not so much like about the deviations from the book. Despite my few minor misgivings, the end result was a trilogy of films that the Tolkien fans and the uninitiated can both enjoy: you couldn't have hoped for a better result.

So the only reason not to see this movie is if you haven't seen the first two. If you haven't seen the first two, rent them and watch them, then go see this movie. It is unlike any movie experience you've ever had before. Just make sure you use the restroom before the movie starts and skip the 32 oz. concession stand soda.

Posted by ksmoker | permalink

Other Entries for "On the Screen"

Comments

I would have liked to see Ghan-Buri_Ghan and the wild men who lead Theoden and the Riders around Sauron's Northern Army (even though that army was left out of the movie).

I also hated the portrayal of Merry and Pippin as simple comic relief (Gimli also). That needed greater character development.

I have been waiting to see the Mouth of Sauron for three years, dammit!

I thought the searchlight eye was ok. Jackson was able to get across the cause and effect between Frodo's activities and everyone else's activity.

Aragorn should have had the sword right from Rivendell as in the books.

Lets go see it on the IMAX screen. I need another viewing.

Posted by: Seth at December 30, 2003 02:59 PM

Skipping the Ghan-Buri-Ghan thing didn't bother me, since they made no mention of the other battles going on around Middle earth. The only reason for Ghan-Buri-Ghan (other than to introduce a different race of men to flesh out Tolkien's mytho-historical background for the book) is to lead the Rohirrim around Sauron's rear-guard army. Focussing the battle on one place (Minas Tirith) makes filmic sense to me.

I hope, I hope, I hope that the Mouth of Sauron makes it into the extended version...

IMAX will be cool!

Posted by: Ken at December 31, 2003 06:52 AM

Funny, I didn't like the speeded up march to the Black Gates at all. I mean, what was it, a 3 hour march? Kind of makes this whole idea of mustering and army and marching it kind of pointless.

What I missed the most were Frodo and Sam's adventures inside Mordor, including running with the orcs. My guess is that it will be included in the Extended Edition (I have heard for certain that the Mouth of Sauron is included, and it explains why the horses disappear in the Black Gate scene).

Posted by: Doug at January 15, 2004 03:07 PM

oh yeah, haven't read quicksilver yet...

Posted by: ken at January 16, 2004 03:37 PM

Arwen has to be the stupidest twit I've ever seen! Yeah, so she's in love, but really, what happened to her grey-eyed solemnity? What happened to her Elvish wisdom? I thought growing up amongst the Lothlorien elves might have given her at least a little sense, I mean really!
I WANTED TO SEE THE HOUSES OF HEALING!!!! AND THE MOUTH OF SAURON!! AARGH!

Posted by: metamorpheus at March 11, 2004 04:02 PM
Post a comment









Remember personal info?