The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)

Director: Peter Jackson
Stars: Elijah Wood, Viggo Mortensen, Ian McKellen
Runtime: 263 minutes (Extended Edition)

Synopsis: Gandalf and Aragorn lead the World of Men against Sauron's army to draw his gaze from Frodo and Sam as they approach Mount Doom with the One Ring.

Verdict: When I first saw the theatrical cut of the final chapter in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, I was blown away. Despite not falling for its predecessors, “The Return of the King” displayed an unprecedented level of technical achievement to recreate the scale of the journey’s conclusion. It’s an epic in every sense of the word, one filled with countless battles between all sorts of beings and a myriad of closures for character arcs. The mere fact that Peter Jackson pulled it off in a single feature (the two parts finale wasn’t a thing back then) is of itself a triumph that certainly didn’t go unnoticed, earning the film a record-breaking 11 Oscar wins (out of 11 nominations!) including for Best Director and, more importantly, Best Picture.

The addition of nearly an hour of extra footage in the extended edition, however, got me a little nervous. Since the previous two installments failed to build a connection between me and the Middle-Earth lore, I was slightly worried that this extension might result in some pacing issues for the already lengthy movie. Clocking at an impressive 4 and a half hours, this cut is the longest narrative feature I have ever seen (followed by Zack Snyder’s Justice League, which I coincidentally watched only a couple of days before writing this review). We’re invited one last time to the fictional world visually enriched by the gorgeous New Zealand scenery as we follow Frodo and Samwise get closer to reaching their goal of destroying the One Ring in the fiery pits of Mount Doom. Not far from them, the rest of the Fellowship is preparing for battle against the intimidating army that Sauron assembled. They know that while the odds are stacked against them, fighting back is the only way to save the lands from the corrupted mysterious figure and the infinite power he seeks.

From the exquisite cinematography to Howard Shore’s magical score, there’s a lot to appreciate about the film’s visuals. Even if the CGI still feels a little dated at times, it never reached the point of distraction from whatever folly was unfolding on the screen. All of it lives up to the status of the book it was based on, which is still considered a reference in the domains of fantasy world-building and character growth. However, my initial fears were justified as the runtime eventually took a toll on me. I knew that if I’d pause, I’d struggle to get back into it, and therefore decided to watch all of it in a single sitting. I was absolutely drained by the time the credits started rolling, and the very first thing I experienced was a feeling of relief that I had finally completed my viewing of the extended cut of the beloved trilogy.

I may be in the minority here but, while I respect the impact that Lord of the Rings left not only on our culture but on Cinema as a whole, I don’t see myself revisiting it any time soon. And if I ever do, you bet that I’ll be popping in the theatrical cuts to save myself a few hours. It’s just not a world I connect to, and I truly struggled to attach myself to any of the characters and consequently the hardships they faced.

FINAL GRADE: 7/10