An approximation of normal service has been resumed

I did promise a review of Return Of The King a goodly while ago. Please pardon me my distractions of late and allow me to give you my thoughts on it now.

I should probably begin by saying that, much as I love The Lord Of The Rings in it's entirety, I found the third book to be in some ways the weakest, or at least it was the one that disappointed me the most out of the three. That's not to say film and book aren't marvellous stories - they are, absolutely, and the fact that I've now read and watched the trilogy several times over will testify to that. It's just that I felt the third book to be slightly anticlimactic, in particular the destruction of the ring was over all too quickly. From the point where Frodo and Sam reach the Crack of Doom until the ring is cast to its end is less than a single page. It seemed to me a poor end for the object that was the driving force behind the story. However, the pacing of the film of the film definitely goes some way to making up for that particular deficit, to the point where the scene at mount doom supplies two of my favourite moments from the film: Frodo's chilling refusal to surrender the ring and Gollum's ecstatic admiration of the ring even as he plummets two his death. I have to credit Peter Jackson's casting decisions here (including Gollum) - nigh all the actors in the film are note perfect. To cast such well known and beloved characters in such a high profile and budget film must have been the stuff of nightmares and yet scarcely a foot was put wrong. All the cast performed admirably and the trilogy's astonishing success owes at lot to them. Kudos to all involved.

I've always been impressed by the production design of the trilogy. From Fellowship onwards, near everything that has appeared on screen has simply looked just right. The characters, creatures and costumes, the sets and effects, the weaponry and more - the the amount of thought behind even the smallest of details is quite staggering, and ROTK is no different. I bring this up because there are a couple of things I have to single out for praise. Minis Tirith was easily my favourite setting from all the books, and it's appearance on screen managed to exceed even the picture of it I held in my minds eye. It's truly a spectacular piece of design. Similarly Shelob is also almost as perfect. I say almost, not because she isn't a beautifully (you know what I mean) realised, but rather because she doesn't look quite as I'd envisioned her - but that's just nit picking. Spiders really aren't something I'm terribly fond of watching as a general rule (and the same holds true here) but of course that just works in the favour of the film. I was squirming in my seat in the scene where Shelob was hovering silently above Frodo picking her moments carefully. Icky, but in a good way.

ROTK also contains what is easily my favourite scene from all the films - the lighting of the beacon at Minas Tirith and following journey of the fires across the mountains, gracefully wending from beacon to beacon as each is lit. It's a simple idea, brought to life with incredible beauty across some breathtaking scenery. I can imagine a representative from The New Zealand Tourist Board watching this scene with little $$ signs flashing over his eyes. I really wish I'd visited New Zealand already, because I imagine the tourist hoards will be descending on it in ever greater numbers as a result of this. Still, if anyone decides that a visit to New Zealand is on the cards please be assured that I'll happily provide you with some company on the journey.

I don't think I can comment much about the battlescenes, other than to say they were breathtaking. I'm quite fed up with people saying that such scenes are obviously cgi. Well duh. Cgi may not yet have reached the lofty goal of true photo-realism just yet (thought dear lord is it coming close), but then neither had any sfx technique previously. What's important as much as anything is the level of artistry and skill that goes to create the final visual and on this level it's difficult to fault the work that WETA have created. Some of it may not be quite perfect but it's as close as anything I've seen dangnabbit, and Gollum remains an absolute triumph.

The pacing of the film isn't completely quibble free, but to be honest it would be churlish of me to point at any flaws. I read an interview with Peter Jackson where the interviewer complimented him on the faithfulness of the films to the books and Jackson responded by starting to list the vast discrepancies between the two. That such differences exist isn't really the point though - that they are artfully hidden is. The fact that all three books have been condensed into little more than 10 hours of film and yet not only retain their plot but also their flavour a stunning achievement. I'm sure many a hard choice were made when it came to writing the script, but as far as I'm concerned they got the balance right.

I'm a little sad it's (mostly) over now. I think I became a little spoiled having a new film to look forward too each year. But at the least I have the extended edition to look forward to next year. After that though...

Sigh.