Review: Return of the King

just got back from seeing return of the king. omg, its so good. the thing was like 3hrs+ long, and i didn't feel it at all. of course, it didn't follow the book exactly, but considering, it followed the spirit and the major plot elements.

as the film progressed, a growing sense of doom could be felt as frodo aproached mount doom and as minas tirath came under siege. evem though you know what's going to happen, that doesn't make the tension any less.

there were a few moments when the CG didn't look that good. mainly when they showed the lidless eye of sauron. not that the cg was bad, per se, but just the way the imagery was conveyed, it just didn't seem that threatening. especially towards the end of the film where they showed the eye casting a spot light on different places. it just seemed odd that the great evil of middle earth was this huge lighthouse or spot light. just made it seem kinda silly.

other points were when the hobbits were running around. they seemed odd and somehow, not right. as if the proportions were inconsitent.

the only reason why these nitpiks are an issue is because the rest of the film is of such high caliber. the acting is superb. with aragorn transforming from a ranger from the north into the king of men. frodo falling deeper into the ring's power. sam weeping as his master turns from him.

of course, there are also aspects that the film conveyed much better than the book could have. just how close everything was to everything else. as gandalf and pippin stared out from a terrace of minas tirith, you could see the fires of mordor smoldering not that far away. as the beacons were lit, it did not take long for the message to reach rohan.

we went to essex green to watch the movie because i wanted a larger screen and stadium seating. last time i was there, the sound was superb. i don't know what was wrong this time, but it seemed like there was something wrong w/ the speakers. the sound was quiet and subdued. hopefully, monday, the sound will be better.

regardless of the nitpicks, this is an amazing film. both entertaining and monumental in its scope. i look forward to seeing again. and if you haven't seen it, you have to see it right now.

5/5