Return Of The King...and what a return it was!

No words, no words. In the movie Contact, Dr. Eleanor Arroway had no words when she witnessed the stars and planets and nebulae in the galaxy as she travelled to meet the intelligent beings who had summoned one of humankind to their planet.

I have no words after watching Return Of The King. But I'll attempt to write some anyway, just in case anyone is reading.

As a reader (many times over) of the books, I winced a little at the incomplete story arcs and the lack of development in certain characters. But I winced only a little. I was sitting up - ready to tip off the edge of my seat - for most of the movie. I knew what was going to happen, but my hands were clammy and my heart ready to burst just waiting for what would happen next. The movie swept me along in its gale, and I relished the ride.

Action, human drama, and good-looking Elves, oh, they're all in this final part of the trilogy. What action! I've never seen or been in awe of such epic battle scenes before. The sets (Minas Tirith - simply breath-taking) and the numbers (warriors, horses, orcs) are extraordinary. You don't think CGI or special effects, you think...oh my...! Everything is so real you can almost breathe in the smoke, the blood, the dust of broken stone and bone.

There are so many moments to give you pause. I can barely find the words (I may never) to describe how I felt. Eowyn, you really believe her, her fear, her courage; how human, how fragile and steely a human she is. (I think I need to get her action figure now!) Gandalf - you thought Yoda was a fighter in AOTC? Check out this wise old master, how he swings that bright, white staff! Faramir, oh Faramir, he has Boromir's might in arms, and a sensitive, beautiful soul that shines as he rides across Pelennor Fields. Theoden, King of Rohan, does his job as a true king, the king we didn't see in The Two Towers. Eomer, so full of life on screen, although he isn't developed as much as I'd have liked. Legolas and Gimli, how they've become true friends at last. Watch Legolas, he's lovely as ever, an acrobat, steadfast and quick as light; he cuts a very nice figure on the battelfield, and he has his best moment as a fighter in this movie. Merry and Pippin come into their own as well; on the battlefield, no less. Aragorn, the king returned; he needs no other elaboration. And Frodo and Sam, and even Gollum, they come to such an end! What an end.

An end of all things. Vanishing into the West. If you thought the song Annie Lennox sings had no effect on you on first listen (without having seen the movie), you might very well find your heart heaving as her voice comes on and the credits roll, but not before sketches of all the characters appear on screen. How these characters have woven their way into our lives. My life, at least. They did so when I first read the books as a sixteen year-old. I near wept when I said good-bye and put the book down after finishing the appendix. I knew I could pick up the tale again, but I knew the end already. I knew too that everything has a final line, and all adventures must have endings. A true bittersweet finish, in all senses of the word. Farewell to our most beloved characters, for even they too, must go home, wherever that may be. In Middle-Earth, it is the end of an Age. In our world, it is the end of a tale, one of the greatest.

The End Of The Third Age by Ted Nasmith

Posted by Monoceros at December 18, 2003 12:29 AM