The board is set. The pieces are moving…We come to it at last….

One of the most anticipated cinematic events in history, and undoubtedly the most anticipated of the year is finally upon us. After three long years and long hours watching and re-watching the first two films, Peter Jackson’s epic fantasy trilogy has finally come to a close. So does it live up to the hype? You bet your @ss it does. Forget every other film this year (and there have been some great ones), this is without a doubt the best picture. I should hope that after all of this, the travesty that is the Oscars recognizes PJ for this massive epic.

Be warned. The first 20 minutes of the film are exceptionally weak. The opening scene and those that follow until we are treated to another great Gollum monologue are beset by bad dialogue, bad pacing, and horrible editing. I was ready to hunt down Jackson and demand him remake the film. However, once it got going, I was forced to eat my words, and gaze on the most grandiose epic to ever grace a screen. As impossible as the task was to do Tolkein’s work justice, Jackson has done it. He has realized Tolkein’s vision, and beautifully captured it in a violent epic of human struggle. The film is tear-inducing, cringe-inducing, and the scope of the film is so grand it will take your breath away.

At over 200 minutes long, one would expect the film to drag, but it never does. The canvas is painted beautifully with such broad sweeping brushstrokes that the film keeps tension and extravagance in the forefront yet still lets the film rest on its characters and their fates. And these are, after all, characters that we’ve been following for the past two years. This is, in a sense our journey. We feel what the characters feel, and we yearn to see this come to a happy ending. I don’t blame Jackson for making this film the longest of the three, because I think he knew the audience would have as hard of a time watching it end as he did.

This film has so much going on. There are essentially four main stories taking place right from the beginning, and the fates of the characters are so intertwined that it really becomes a sense of a war for freedom against unstoppable odds. But that’s the whole point, isn’t it? The first two films were building up to what promised to be an ending to be engraved on the pages of cinematic greatness. As awesome as the first two were, they feel like little more than a tease of how simply astounding this film is.

The fact that so much is going on has caused certain subplots to be cut from the film, but at little cost. No doubt many of these will make their way on to the Extended DVD, so essentially, this film is not complete. But as complete as it is, it still works nearly perfectly. Every character we’ve been introduced to is brought to the thick of the action and given an important and heroic role. The characters are given much more depth, and the tension between them is fantastic. These characters are believable in their relationships, even if some of their actions are not. Samwise is loyal. Frodo is torn. Gandalf is noble. Aragorn is kingly. Gollum is lustful. Denethor is deranged. Merry and Pippin are courageous. Jackson certainly does not skimp on character development, which is nice to see in a film this epic. Where he could have just assumed we had a reason to care about the characters because of the first two films, he delves deeper and gives us more reason than ever to get behind them.

This movie is emotional. People fight and die for what they believe in. Myth and legend becomes reality in a way no one would have thought possible. Three years ago, when Frodo and company left the shire, they never could have imagined it would come to something so immense as this. The film creates that same feeling for the viewer.

Courage is the theme of the film. It is courage that drives Frodo and Sam through the last leg of their journey. It is courage that wills the free men of Middle Earth to fight the hordes of Mordor when no chance of victory can be foreseen. For those expecting solely action, be prepared for a brilliant story to go with it. But rest well knowing that the action is there as well.

The action scenes in the film are incredible. While the fight choreography isn’t as impressive to watch as that in The Last Samurai, the sheer enormousness of the war is a sight never before seen. Helm’s Deep was just an appetizer for the Siege of Gondor and the Battle of Pellannor Fields which all takes place in broad daylight and sees not just men and orcs, but trolls, oliphaunts, ghosts, and dragons, and more! Battles are tense and will have you gripping your armrests cringing with every blow.
And at the same time, we are treated to Frodo and Sam taking on one of the most fearsome and incredible looking digital creatures ever. WETA digital has the Oscar in the bag for this one.
Howard Shore scores the film beautifully, showing his best work of the series here. But then, this film is the best of the three, in every way possible. Just listen to the track he’s composed for the Shelob’s Lair scene. It is a masterpiece.

This 11 hour epic has become the single biggest project to ever grace the screen. It is one of the most recognizable and known pieces of media history. And thanks to everyone involved, it has become one of the most breathtaking and deserving, as well. There will be no looking at any of these actors from now on, and not seeing them as the character they’ve played here. Jackson has given the world of fantasy its own Star Wars trilogy. What he has done will be remembered forever. This is without a doubt, the most epic film in the history of cinema. This film gives us all something to hope for in a world that has told us that wonder and magic are things of some distant legend. If nothing else, this film allows us, for a brief time, to forget the world we live in, and embrace that in some far off land, nobility and honor still exist, and they’re worth fighting for.

Thank you Peter Jackson and everyone involved in this film, no matter how small. You have created something that after three years, I was loathe to see come to an end. Something that, while created in our time, is itself a timeless tale, which. as long as there are people who hold a moral framework and the values of peace important, will live forever.


Recommended:
Yes

Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older