Warning this review is riddled with spoilers. If you haven’t seen The Return of the King yet, shame on you.

Acting: 9/10
As we have come to expect from these films the cast was spectacular. I found there to be no weak performances. Particular mention must go to Ian McKellen (Gandalf), Billy Boyd (Pippin) and John Noble (Denethor) whose acting on the Minas Tirith set was phenomenal. We saw the character of Pippin mature and change before our very eyes and his scenes with Gandalf were heartfelt. In many eyes Sean Astin was the real star of the film and true his performance was both emotive and evocative but at times I felt he was a little overacting.

Editing: 7/10
If anything let the film down it would be the editing. At times this was done shoddily and it showed. The previous films seemed to run seamlessly but in The Return of the King some scenes didn’t link together and was quite obvious to a Tolkien fan like me that there were scenes missing. Often you could see there were scenes cut that probably will appear in the extended edition. Most of it was well executed but there were just those few things that let the side down.

Computer Graphics: 10/10
What can I say other than this film had the most realistic and most stunning special effects I have ever seen in a film. Almost every shot had a computer-enhanced element. Being a techie in my spare time made me pay attention to the details and there were very few scenes I could complain about. The best creations in my view were the evil beasts. The Fell Beasts and Oliphants were incredibly lifelike and interacted with their environments exceptionally well. The only computer graphic I didn’t like was the Legolas vs. the Mûmakil sequence. To me it just looked incredibly fake and with WETA producing so much great work on the film I was very disappointed. And then there is Gollum, yet again a masterpiece of modern technology. How they get those emotions into a digital character’s eyes I will never know.

Sets/Props: 9.5/10
Spectacular once again. New Zealand has so much natural beauty in the first place but with the inclusion of fantastic sets like Edoras and Minas Tirith, it all came together. Particular scenes which show the pure genius of Jackson’s use of landscape and sets include the awe-inspiring beacons scene in which we traveled over the snow-capped mountains of New Zealand and Gandalf and Pippin’s entry into the White City in which we see the Minas Tirith miniature in all its glory. As well as the huge epicness of the films sets and locations, the intricacy of the props and the minutest detail add to the film’s sheer brilliance.

Costumes and Make-up
From the sharpness and harshness of the orcish armour to the elegance and beauty of the elvish gowns, the costume and make-up team have continued their efforts and provided us with both consistency and originality.

Plotline: 8/10
As we have come to expect Peter Jackson has taken some liberties with the plot, but on the whole he has got the feel of the book. We have a somewhat unusual Denethor death scene as well as a huge conflict between Frodo and Sam with Gollum as the instigator. There are some new scenes which adds to the film immensely, one of the most notable being the beacons of Gondor which are only hinted at in the book. The only minus point was the ending. The scenes at the grey havens were dragged out too long to remain interesting…

Music: 9.5/10
Howard Shore did a wonderful job with the music – as usual. The best parts were certainly those in which the music had a function in the storyline; for example the song of Billy Boyd in Gondor, or the lines of Viggo Mortensen at Aragorn’s coronation. The flute of James Galway brought an extra dimension to the soundtrack, from tin whistle to flute, he contributed to the atmosphere of the different tracks.

All in all the movie was a wonderful experience, a worthy ending to the trilogy.

by Vaulrir

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