[CaseCom]

(Note: I know there's already another general ROTK thread, but I didn't want to put spoilers in that one.)

Saw the midnight showing last night. Overall, I really liked the movie. This one might be harder to follow for those who haven't read the books, though. Plus it's extremely fast-paced, even more so than TTT.

Two sequences I thought were really well done were Shelob's Lair and the Cracks of Doom ("punched up" a bit from the book, but it worked well). The demise of the Witch-king was great too, although you got no sense of how grievously wounded Eowyn and Merry were as a result.

And it seemed like Barad-dur took about 15 minutes to collapse, but Sauron's Eye frantically looking to and fro as it did so was great.

I thought putting in the Deagol/Smeagol scene and cutting the Voice of Saruman scene (where Gandalf and Saruman have their final confrontation at Isengard) was a bad choice.

The Denethor stuff was too campy. Gandalf whacking him over the head with his staff rang false. The chomping on cherry tomatoes was too much. I rolled my eyes when Pippin sang his little song. And why have him say "I see more than you could possibly know" but never bring in the Palantir?

Overall though, definitely a thumbs up. Not a dry eye in the house.

[ryju]

I'm so sick of Gollum now after his little debate in the Two Towers. Totally ruined my interpretation of him from reading the books. But oh well. I haven't seen it yet, but rottentomatoes has it up at 97%.

[- - e r i k - -]

I loved the Denethor scenes.

I have already said what I didn't like (the never-ending ending). Gollum was even more fantastic this time around. Nice way of solving his internal debates (water)

[iOliverC]

Overall, I loved it. The 'burn Faramir' bit got a bit annoying, but I guess it was needed so Aragorn could take the throne.

I loved the crowning of Aragorn, and how they all bowed to the Hobbits. I think the Battle I liked the most was the Black Gate battle, I dunno why really.

Over the whole series of movies, it deserves:

[fireside]

i hated the fact that i really had to take a piss and i didnt want to miss anything.

[BrunoBruin]

Originally posted by CaseCom:
And it seemed like Barad-dur took about 15 minutes to collapse, but Sauron's Eye frantically looking to and fro as it did so was great.

That was about the only thing I DIDN'T like. I always imagined the Eye as more metaphorical, the mind of Sauron, not a literal flaming eyeball that actually moves.

I loved the fact that Pippin and Merry got more to do in this installment. And Pippin's song, as well as Eowyn and Aragorn singing, was a nice nod to all the songs in the book. Eowyn's confrontation with the Witch King was a little too abrupt but that was about the only false note for me. Amazing, amazing movies, all of them. I wish I could have seen the marathon.

[MacGorilla]

I was bummed Sauron lost

[Oneota]

I pretty much liked the whole thing.

To those who thought the ending was too long, I say this:

Remember what your high school english teacher taught you about story telling. Every story has what's called a story arc. This arc diagrams the tension in the story. You've got the setup, the introduction of the problem, the buildup, the climax, and the anticlimax.

In a normal 90 minute movie, the anticlimax might be all of 10 minutes long (if that). Obviously, ROTK's 30-minute anticlimax would have been gross overkill for a movie that length.

If ROTK had been a standalone 3.2-hour movie, the 30-minute anticlimax would still be pushing it. But it isn't a standalone movie; it's the final 3.2 hours of a ~9 hour movie. As such, the story arc itself is huge, and the anticlimax is proportionately big. There were a lot of mini story-arcs to wrap up, and the audience (who presumably have the entire trilogy going through their minds, not just the last third) needs to decompress.

With that in mind, I think the ending was perfectly concieved and executed.

[CaseCom]

Originally posted by BrunoBruin:
That was about the only thing I DIDN'T like. I always imagined the Eye as more metaphorical, the mind of Sauron, not a literal flaming eyeball that actually moves.

Hmm, that's a good point.

After further reflection, here's more of my nit-picking:

-- No "Mouth of Sauron" scene. That had better be on the extended DVD.

-- Gollum sinking into the lava as if it were Jell-O pudding. Maybe 500-year-olds are just really resistant to incineration.

-- The Ring floating atop the lava, apparently as a final temptation for Frodo. Come on, melt! Melt already!

-- The Dead were kick-ass until the very end of the Pelennor battle, when they started whooshing around Minas Tirith like so many phosphorescent Scrubbing Bubbles. Then they lost me.

-- If Gandalf is called by his Elvish name "Mithrandir" in Gondor, why have the Elves themselves been calling him "Gandalf" all along?

-- The Grey Havens scene was emotionally powerful but not very well produced. It had too much of an obvious soundstage look to it. And what, were they the only ones boarding the boat? Where's everybody else?

-- The scene at Isengard where Gandalf entrusts Treebeard with the guarding of Saruman. As Gandalf speaks, the visual is an extremely long shot of the whole group; it looks like the line was quickly dubbed in after they decided to jettison the Voice of Saruman scene.

[BrunoBruin]

Originally posted by CaseCom:
-- No "Mouth of Sauron" scene. That had better be on the extended DVD.

I'm almost certain I read that an actor (Bruce Spence?) had been cast as the Mouth of Sauron, so I assume we'll be getting that on the DVD. Until you mentioned it I hadn't even missed it!

[xi_hyperon]

I have to say that the battle scenes were the most impressive I have ever witnessed. I can't say I disliked anything about the movie, other than what others have already mentioned about Saruman's deleted scene. Overall, what Peter Jackson and co. have done with Tolkien's work is nothing short of genius.

[WizOSX]

Originally posted by oneota

With that in mind, I think the ending was perfectly concieved and executed.

I agree completely. I just kept hoping that there would be even more. For all those who think the ending was too long, just keep in mind that there will never be another LOTR movie. No more parts of the story left to make into a movie.

[wolfen]

Good news: There are a some actual men in the damn thing. It's a great movie. The good guys win. The series is over.

Bad news: Legolas is still presented as a testicle-free elven hermaphrodite. None of the babes are wearing latex. Gandalf didn't do anything interesting as a wizard.

wolfen

[::maroma::]

As someone who has (now regrettably) never read the books, I absolutely loved Return of the King. I also loved the previous two, but this one was the icing on the cake for me.

I too thought the ending was fit for the trilogy. Yes, it is longer than most films, but it was good for me. As Oneota said, it allowed me to decompress.

The battle scenes were jaw dropping. I literally found myself with my mouth hanging open in pure awe. I heard people just gasping at the effects and the sequences. I left the theater with a big smile on my face.

This trilogy has restored my faith in mainstream films. Hell, probably in filmmaking in general. Hats off to Peter Jackson and the entire cast and crew. They did it right.

[jessejlt]

I wish they would have included the scene where Gandalf breaks Salumon's staff. When reading the book I remember thinking that was real pimp, and I'm sure it would have made a nice scene in the movie as well.
jesse ;-)

[scottiB]

To be honest, I wasn't as blown-away as I thought--not to say it wasn't quite, quite, quite good. Perhaps I'm too old to have a mind-altering cinematic experience. That would suck.


While I really enjoy Tolkien's world, I'm not that fastidious in feeling the films should adhere to the book (and don't care if the Balrog has wings or not).

That said:

• It felt like it was 3.5 hours long: Suprisngly, it wasn't the ending that felt long (I actually feel more time could've been spent on the farewells); the first hour dragged for me. Perhaps I was wrapped-up in anticipation for the battle scenes, but the first 60 minutes seemed to drag.
  
• I didn't care for Gandalf's response when Frodo woke up: just laughter (nor the slumber-party feel when the Hobbits jumped on the bed). I wanted words.
  
• I would've prefered that Gollum fell out of jubilation rather than a fight with Frodo (while I understand the way it was presented and arguably was better for the film).
  
• Too much slow motion: Sometimes it felt that Jackson just discovered the turtle-toggle in iMovie. Cut away half of that and there would've been time to include Saruman.
  
• Book exclusions that I wanted: Aragorn and the Palantir; The Mouth of Sauron.
  
• Book inclusions that I'm glad were there: Pippin crying, "The Eagles are coming!"; Grond (more impressive than I imagined).
  
• Favorite snippets/scenes/things: The boulder just missing the fearless Orc general and the troll's reaction; the Hobbits sitting silently at the Green Dragon with the weight of their experiences; the Eagles fighting the fell beasts; the Dead Army appearing right behind Aragorn as he walked from the Corsair (and their Frightener-ing appearance); Gollum and the lembas bread ruse; Shelob's final tactic in getting Frodo.

None of my criticism hampers my respect and awe of what Jackson has accomplished: 10 hours of a singular vision that enhances my future readings of the book and other Tolkien writings. A wonderous, wonderous experience.

[mchladek]

Originally posted by BrunoBruin:
That was about the only thing I DIDN'T like. I always imagined the Eye as more metaphorical, the mind of Sauron, not a literal flaming eyeball that actually moves.

I loved the fact that Pippin and Merry got more to do in this installment. And Pippin's song, as well as Eowyn and Aragorn singing, was a nice nod to all the songs in the book. Eowyn's confrontation with the Witch King was a little too abrupt but that was about the only false note for me. Amazing, amazing movies, all of them. I wish I could have seen the marathon.

I definitely agree with the eye as a metaphor. But remember Peter Jackson was originally talking about making Sauron a person who came out and fought. Thank good that didn't happen. I think the big roving eye was a nice compromise.

I absolutely loved this movie. Ah ... I still have chills from it 24 hours later. I actually loved John Noble's portrayl of Denethor, and that the scenes with Denethor were very well done. I was actually afraid they were going to cut the pyre scene out of the movie. I could have done without the final Gollum/Frodo fight and would have preferred Gollum falling in simply from excitement, but it's a forgivable offense I disagree with you scottiB in regards to Gandalf laughing when Frodo awakes and the "slumber party." I thought that was perfect. I mean, what words could possibly be said at that point?

Definitely an A+ movie.

[scottiB]

Originally posted by mchladek:
I disagree with you scottiB in regards to Gandalf laughing when Frodo awakes and the "slumber party." I thought that was perfect. I mean, what words could possibly be said at that point?

Fair enough. I reread the book's depiction, and the awakening after the Eagles saved them was actually from Sam's POV, so I'm in error.

Actually the scene does echo Frodo waking-up in Rivendell with Gandalf at the bed's end, and he fills in the audience with an expository monologue.

Perhaps, it was the damned slow-motion again.

Another line I'm glad was in was Frodo telling Sam: I am glad you are here with me. Here at the end of all things.