"For Frodo."
That gets me every time.
The Plot
The board is set, the pieces are moving, they've come to it at last. Frodo (Elijah Wood), Sam (Sean Astin) and Smeagol (Andy Serkis) are now in the heart of Mordor with their mission coming close to an end. The city of Minas Tirith of the kingdom of Gondor is the last stronghold for the forces of good and it needs its rightful king to return. That king is Aragorn (Vigo Mortensen). The great battle for Middle-Earth begins and ends here.
Review
There is a common belief that the third film in a trilogy is always the weakest link. But that is not the case for this film. The Return of the King is easily the best finisher to a trilogy in blockbuster cinematic history. All the elements and players built in The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers comes to a head as the climax of this long story finally comes to an end.
There is no possible way I can do everyone justice, but I'm going to knock it out this way. Know these names: Dominic Monaghan, Billy Boyd, Ian McKellan, Vigo Mortensen, Orlando Bloom, John Rhys-Davies, Bernard Hill, Miranda Otto, David Wenham, Hugo Weaving and Liv Tyler are incredible. All of them deliver knockout performances in this emotionally charged grand finale. Even smaller roles like Cate Blanchett's Galadriel and newcomer John Noble's Denethor add so much to this already large ensemble of nuanced characters. But of course at the center of this ensemble's side of the story is Mortensen's Aragorn. Here we see the king has definitely returned and has fully accepted who he needs to be against the forces of darkness. That is to be there with his people for one final stand against Sauron, in order to give a chance for the real standouts of this film.
Elijah Wood and Andy Serkis may have been strong in the previous films, but their performances reach a whole new level in this film. And one unsung hero has finally reached this very same level. That is Sean Astin as Samwise Gamgee. He has been mostly Frodo's support for the entire journey and the only sound voice of reason. Smeagol's manipulation of Frodo brings their friendship to a near devastating end, but it also shows just how powerful these three actors are. In here we truly see that Astin's Sam is the hero of the story. This is because of how much he rises to the occasion compared to Frodo who is going through the motions because he feels like he has to. It is this pairing and the splinter that tries to break them that make them the incredible standouts of this film. If anything, it is a wonder why Wood and Astin are not in more bigger mainstream films, because I firmly believe they deserve to be. Serkis on the other hand has capitalized on his success as Smeagol/Gollum by continuing to be a driving force in motion capture. But there is no denying that these three definitely gave the third film it's true conflict that is not a climactic clashing of armies, but rather a clash between individuals over the source of evil.
That's not to say the clashing of gigantic armies was not necessary. When the film is not focusing on the mission to destroy the ring, the Battle of Minas Tirith makes the battle of Helms Deep look more like a skirmish. This is a chance for director Peter Jackson to unleash everything in the makeup and special effects department on the heroes and their humanly hosts. It is an all out war in the most spectacular fashion but also grounded in the reality of war. It is terrifying. Especially if you're outnumbered and the opposing army has flying Black Riders (Nazgul), gigantic trolls, vicious wolves, and titanic elephants (oliphants/mumakil) on their side. Yet through all the chaos, Jackson never forgets to show the human drama that is going on in every tier of the city. The fact that this chaotic war can easily flow with the more smaller yet more important story of Frodo, Sam, and Smeagol is a true testament of a talented director as well as an incredible editing team.
If there is a complaint that is commonly brought up, yet mostly understood, it is the multiple endings of the film. Some people felt that the final scenes in the movie felt more like a string of epilogues instead of one singular epilogue giving a singular closure. While I'm perfectly fine with the endings, I do always wonder every time I watch if there was a certain ending the film could've stopped at in order to convey a singular ending that people would be satisfied with. But with all out honesty, I can't think of one. All the endings may drag out the film, but at the same time all are needed in order to bring proper closure instead of a closure.
Final Thoughts
It is no surprise to me that this film won 11 Academy Awards at the Oscars. In fact, it was the first time that I watched the Oscars all the way through just to root for this film to win everything. I may have been a child hitting 13, but even then I knew how incredible this film is. And looking at it now, it still holds up after all those years. It is the film that you wished all third films in blockbuster trilogies would be. Sure, some complain about the multiple endings but in the end all of them are necessary. Peter Jackson, the cast and practically the entire nation of New Zealand achieved something special with this film. One that I was certain as a kid can never be repeated again. And after watching The Hobbit movies.... I was right.
SCORE: 9.5/10 - A near perfect ending to an amazing film trilogy
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