2003 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

2003 The Lord of the Rings:
The Return of the King

"Authority is not given to you to deny the return of the king, Steward."


Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings Trilogy is obviously incredible.  It was filmed on an epic scale, with fabulous effects, action, danger, good vs. evil, friendship, betrayal, redemption, love.  All around amazing.  The whole team behind the making of the movie clearly put a lot of passion into its production.

I personally think that Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship  of the Ring (2001) was the best of the trilogy.  Clearly the 2003 Oscar ceremony was about honoring the trilogy as a whole (it won 11 awards).  I don't endorsing this idea –The Godfather got awards for the individual movies, why not this?  I did love the trilogy, though, so I was very glad to see it get its props.  The awards were very deserved.

Helm's Deep -The Two Towers.

The Return of the King was probably my least favorite of the three movies.  After the intensity of the battle at Helm's Deep in The Two Towers (2002), it was hard to get enthused about the battle scenes in The Return of the King -been there, done that.  The movie also doesn't seem to know when to end.  Every time you think you've seen the finale, it fades to another scene instead of credits.  The ending it finally settles on is so sad, with Frodo heading off to the Undying Lands because he can't emotionally recover from the toll his journey took on his mind and spirit.  I wanted the trilogy to end on a triumphant note (how about the scene where everyone is kneeling in honor of the four hobbits?), not a melancholy one.  I also would have liked a little more than a quickly exchanged glance to establish that Eowyn and Faramir were going to get together (if Tyler hadn't told me, I wouldn't have known, and these two characters deserve happiness).

Arwen and Aragon  -The Fellowship of the Ring.

The Fellowship of the Ring was so groundbreaking and achingly beautiful that it's hard for the two sequels to match it.  It sets a slower pace at first, developing the characters and Middle Earth itself, and then gets into the action with a gusto.  The two following movies are pretty much all action, or Frodo/Sam/Gollum fighting over the ring.  Still great, but if I had to rate them, it would be Fellowship, Two Towers, then Return of the King.

The Shire -The Fellowship of the Ring.

Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World is runner up.  It pairs Russell Crowe and Paul Bettany again, this time at sea, and it didn't get the accolades it deserved.  It is very difficult to get me interested in a naval movie with no love story, but this one managed it.  The characters were so engaging, and the naval battles so gripping, I had to love it.

Captain Jack Aubrey: England is under threat of invasion, and though we be on the far side of the world, this ship is our home.  This ship, is England.  So it's every hand to his rope or gun, quick's the word and sharp's the action.  After all...surprise is on our side.
Crew: Huzzah, huzzah!  

Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World