Didn’t take long for me to get to my favourite trilogy of all time. I would argue that I am a bigger ‘Star Wars’ fan in a broader sense, but for pure quality of the films the ‘Lord of the Rings’ takes the cake. I think pretty much all these films are as close to perfect as you can get and picking my favourite changes depending on the day you ask me. I absolutely adore them, and I know I am not alone in saying that. My love them means that in some ways these reviews will be easy, in other ways it will be hard. But let’s give it a good go and I promise to not just gush for 300 words each time. Also, I should probably say I am watching the original releases and not the extended editions, mostly because of what I had access to.
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
God it has been too long. From the opening moments of this film you know you are in for something special. You are instantly made aware of the sense of scale and details these films are going to provide with the battle at Mordor. There is such a grand scope to it, and all the designs of the creatures and armour are so specific down to the tiniest details. You are instantly thrown into the world of the films as well as an exciting action set-piece and by being so well done it hides the fact that it is basically just a ten-minute exposition scene. The world building throughout the entire film is incredible. There is a fantastic amount of locations which are all varied and again are designed down to the smallest detail so that you become fully immersed in this world. As for the films narrative it is completely engaging. From the very first moments of the film you buy in to the story and the plight of all our characters. Performance wise it is all spot on as well. This is our first introduction to all these new characters, and no one skips a beat in terms of their portrayals. Aragorn is my favourite character and he is portrayed perfectly by Viggo Mortensen but watching the film again my favourite performance is actually from Sean Bean as Boromir. This is probably because with this being the first film of the trilogy most characters don’t get a full arc, where as Boromir does (for reasons I won’t get into although I’m sure everybody knows why). This makes him the most intriguing character in the film and Sean Bean plays him perfectly. I would be a fool to not to mention the soundtrack as well which is incredible and is iconic at this point. In terms of what is wrong with the film, I guess some of the effects haven’t held up particularly well. But saying that, the majority of them till hold up really well, especially for a film that is almost 20 years old. Other than that, I have very little negative to say about the film. It is close to being perfect and I love it even after all this time. Will that sentiment remain the same for the next two films? Let’s find out.
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
Jesus these films are good, aren’t they? Again, this film is almost perfect. There are some things I am not entirely sold on mind. I think the parts involving Faramir could have been a bit more interesting and it seems to sort itself out without being completely satisfying. It isn’t bad, but with how interesting the whole Boromir arc was in the first film I feel like this aspect could have been explored further. Apart from this it is so damn good. It is this film which properly introduces us to Gollum and there is very little I can say about the character and Andy Serkis’ performance that hasn’t already been said. It is an incredible mix between the actor and the CGI to create a character that is so believable and looks great even now, even if there are some moments where scaling is a bit of an issue. Again, the score is incredible, and I love all the new theme for Rohan that are introduced. The world again feels incredible in its scope and all the locations, sets, and costume designs remain exquisite and immense. But, of course, there is one aspect of this film that has many people putting it as the best of the trilogy, and that is the battle of Helm’s Deep. Every single moment of this film is incredible. It is as emotional as it is exhilarating, and it builds perfectly to the superb climax. The scale of the battle is incredible, and it manages to mix live action with CGI brilliantly to create a sense of immersion and gives real emotional weight to the entire scene. It is hands down one of the best battle scenes ever put to film and is the cherry on the cake of what is an incredible film. However, I have always placed the final film in the trilogy at the top of the pile. I wonder if I still will upon further inspection...
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
Yeah, I think it is still my favourite. Whether it is the best or not is very much up for debate, but I just love this film so much. I’ll start this review off by addressing the elephant in the room, that being the 496 endings this film has. And I will address it by saying I really don’t mind them. Let’s face it, the film is trying to wrap up almost 9 hours worth of storytelling on a huge scale and I think all the endings help to wrap up the majority of the storylines and end the franchise on a huge emotional high. Okay, the scene where Frodo is in bed and all our major players walk in the door one by one to greet him, effectively acting as roll call is a bit hokey, but even that I don’t mind all that much. And If I like the major issue a lot of people have with this film you can guess my opinion about it on the whole. The film still has the insane scale, scope, ambition, and detail of the other two films which allows for the epic feel of the trilogy to be continued in the film. There are so many moments in this film I just adore. Of course, the Minis Tirith battle is brilliant (although better than Helm’s Deep? Maybe not), but it is the character moments where I really love this film. Being the third in the trilogy it sees a lot of the characters complete their arcs and I think it does it really well. Case in point, Aragorn. The moment where he leads a final group to Mordor to create a diversion for Frodo, god I just love it. The speech is iconic enough, but the best part of this scene is where it looks like he may be falling under the spell of Sauron just to turn around, give a small smile, and say ‘For Frodo’. Brilliant. Speaking of characters, this is the film which officially confirms that Frodo may be the protagonist of the piece, but Sam is the hero. He has so many great moments in this film and Sean Astin plays him brilliantly. Pippin and Merry also have their most emotional moments in this film, especially Pippin who becomes a much bigger layer than he had before in the trilogy. All of this I great, but there is one moment in this film which I think is the reason it tips the scales for me in terms of this being my favourite. It is where Rohan arrive at Minis Tirith. This entire sequence is incredible, but it reaches its peak just as they start to charge the armies of Mordor and tat incredible Rohan theme kicks in. Watching it again last night I got goose bumps despite having seen it god knows how many times. It is my favourite moment in a film full of incredible moments and is probably my favourite moment across the whole trilogy.
I may have only jut finished watching these films all over again, but the temptation to go back and watch the extended editions is so strong. These films are endlessly rewatchable despite their epic length, and I am not alone in my pure love for them. They are about as close as perfect, for me, as films can get, and the trilogy is an incredible cinematic achievement. Is it the greatest cinematic trilogy of all time? That may be up for debate, but it is right, right, up there. Just pure magic. Now, I did consider including the ‘Hobbit’ films in this Franchise Friday, but time exists so I scrapped that idea. Maybe next week instead? Yeah, go on then.