Journal: Return of the King - Impressions

Disclaimer: SPOILERS AHEAD.

I went to see the 12:01 showing of the final installment of The Lord of the Rings. My impressions are mixed. On one hand, the first half of the movie changed SO much from the book and, in my opinion, for all the wrong reasons. There were many times throughout the movie when I buried my face in my hands, shaking my head in disbelief at these huge departures from the book. On the other, it was a really good movie. The special effects were awesome. And, toward the second half. it really almost followed the book perfectly.

First of all, I am not a purist. This is the first LoTR movie I have seen after reading the book - I actually just finished it a week and a half ago. As such, I had a completely different perspective going in to this one than the other two. I realize that this is an adaptation of Tolkien's book. I am a film student at USC - I realize the factors that affect the text of a film. I realize that some things had to be changed because of time constraints and to make it a more enjoyable movie for those who have not read the books. Having said that, I just wanted to discuss a few of the changes.

When Frodo, Sam, and Gollum are climbing the staircase and Gollum is leading them, unknowingly, into Shelob's lair, Gollum is able to win Frodo's mind and makes him think that Sam is after the ring and will try and take it. Almost at the top of the climb, Frodo tells Sam to leave - to go home. Then Frodo and Gollum continue onward without him. This is a drastic change from the book. In the book, all 3 enter Shelob's lair where, after a skirmish, Gollum runs off and Shelob is killed by Sam and Sting. In my opinion, this was done solely to elicit an applause from the audience when Sam comes back and fights Shelob. Is this good or bad? It does serve to further delineate Frodo's character. He has been almost completely overthrown by the Ring and it is poisoning his mind. The Ring is his precious and he won't let anyone take it from him. The suspense of Shelob attacking Frodo is absolutely amazing. She hides behind him - the audience knows she is there but Frodo does not. She follows him, waiting to attack. The whole audience is on the edge of their seat, knowing an attack is eminent. It was awesome.

After killing Shelob, Sam runs to Frodo and assumes he is dead. In the book, this is one of the most dramatic scenes. Sam is shattered that Frodo has been killed. Eventually, he must leave his side - he has to take the Ring and finish the quest. He is torn by his loyalty to his fallen friend and his duty as a member of the Fellowship. In the movie, this scene was completely screwed over. Sam runs to Frodo, thinks he is dead, sees Sting glowing, and runs for cover. Orcs enter and let everyone (the audience and a hiding Sam) know he is still alive. I hope the Extended Edition will lengthen this scene, as it should be a very emotionally powerful scene. Also, unbeknownst to the audience, Sam took the Ring. The only reason for omitting this is to build suspense in the audience when the Orcs take everything Frodo has. Those who have not read the book think the Orcs now have the Ring. Then Sam can come and rescue him and say, "Well, I actually took the Ring when I thought you were dead." and make those who haven't read the books give a sigh of relief.

The scene in the Paths of the Dead was absolutely fantastic. The special effects were amazing. I have to congratulate PJ and the whole team for this one.

After getting the undead army, Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas sail to the harbor to come to the aid of Minas Tirith. When the fighting starts, Gimli and Legolas sadly begin the Frag count again. You thought it was bad the first time? It's much worse in this one as there are more than Orcs to kill. Toward the end, Legolas shoots three arrows into the head of a Oliphant, bringing it down. Upon getting off, Gimli comments, "That only counts as one." Horrible. If you are standing on the battlefield, fighting an army of 10,000 enemies, you are not going to be making wisecracks like that. Sorry. Thumbs down on that one. It only serves to distance the audience from sympathizing with the people of Minas Tirith and Rohan. They are fighting a war that they do not expect to win. They only want to go out in a blaze of glory. The people of Minas Tirith, in particular, are absolutely horrified. So much time is spent portraying to the audience their terror and hopelessness. Then it is all thrown away by Legolas' and Gimli's making light of the situation. Granted by this point the tide of the battle has begun to turn, but it is still waging. They should have left well enough alone.

I have to give a hand for the depiction of the Steward. It effectively portrays his relationship his two sons. There is a beautiful montage of Faramir and the knights of Gondor riding against Osgiliath, which they have no hope of recapturing, and the Steward sitting in the top of the city eating dinner. This montage was magnificently done. It really brought across the idea that he loved Boromir more than Faramir and that he, as a Steward, is doing nothing to protect the city. To him, there is no hope.

If you've read the books, you know that the Steward basically loses his mind and gives up on life. The future looks too bleak. He thinks Faramir to be dead and it is the straw that breaks the camel's back. So, he goes into the vault and has wood brought so they can be burned together. Gandalf comes in and is able to save Faramir, but his father catches on fire and runs out of the vault in flames and jumps off the top of the city, falling thousands of feet in flames to his death. Um, OK Peter Jackson. There you go again, throwing away all emotional ties in the audience for the characters with a shot containing humor. I'm sorry. Maybe I'm just kinda weird, but I almost laughed as this flaming ball runs to the edge of the cliff and then falls a thousand feet to his death.

The battle sequence is absolutely stunning. I have to complement the team also for this one. It was very impressive.

Well, the Ring finally makes it to Mt. Doom. I held my breath at this scene, waiting to see if Frodo would throw it in or not. I crossed my fingers as it seemed he would, hoping PJ didn't screw it up. To my joy, Frodo didn't throw it in. Before anyone makes comments like "Why are you rooting for the bad guy?" let me explain: in the book, he can't let it go. He can't throw it in and destroy it. The scene in the book plays out much the same as it does in the movie and Gollum is the one who ultimately destroys it by falling in with it. I cannot even begin to describe how happy I was that this part followed the book. I began to worry that it had been changed.

Finally, after destroying the ring, Frodo and Sam are huddled together outside the mountain as magma flows around them. This scene was also very good. It is finally over. The Ring has been destoyed. The quest is finally over and Frodo is free of his burden. After an emotional conversation on, there is a slow fade to black. It seems as if the movie has ended (even though there is another 30 minutes or so remaining). They wanted us to think that it was over. I have a mixed opinion about this, and am not quite decided on it...

Overall, it was a great movie. If you are a purist, there are some parts (well, the first half of the movie) in which you are going to just shake your head. Yes, there were some changes. Some served to enhance the story - to make it unpredictable by not giving the audience an omniscient perspective. Other parts were just wrong and only made the audience laugh in what was supposed to be a very emotional point in the story.

Well, there's my 2 cents. Take it for what it's worth. I personally still like The Fellowship the best. Return of the King was better than the Two Towers, though.

Note: I am kinda tired, so be kind to my spelling, grammar, and organization!