The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King—Well Worth the Return 

A Review by James M. DiLuzio CSP

When you reach the end credits of a 3½ hour movie and wish the movie wasn’t over, you are experiencing the very best of cinematic storytelling. Good News: THE RETURN OF THE KING is that kind of movie.  It delivers the promise of THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RINGS and THE TWO TOWERS and fulfills the spirit of Tolkien’s great literary achievement.

As we had hoped, director Peter Jackson and his commendable crew offer terrific moments of terror. Fantasy finds a new realism here. Shelob the Great Spider is ever-so believably portrayed.  The fires and lava of Mount Doom splash across the screen in marvelous intensity.  We feel the heat. There is also great beauty and majesty. We feast our eyes on the great city of Minas Tirith and breathtaking mountain vistas.  But be prepared for the most inspired and majestic grandeur of all: our tremendously gifted director, screenwriters, cast and crew have bestowed on us the full, deep humanity of its protagonists’ heroic witness.  In THE RETURN OF THE KING we experience for ourselves, however vicariously, the height and depth of faith and hope and friendship come to life.  

With a prayer of gratitude we can revel in the ways Jackson and crew have remained faithful to J.R. Tolkien’s masterpiece.  We care about these characters and their struggles.  We care about the earth that they inhabit (meant to be our earth before the beginning of the age when the world is ruled by humans alone).  We care about the world in which they live that is so akin to our world with all its pleasures and blessings, troubles, temptations, and, alas, violence.  We embrace the vision they embrace as they struggle to uphold what is good and true while they battle malevolent power, greed and despair—in others and in themselves. Ah!  If only our encounters with the Gospel in our Church Services and in our homes and businesses in this real world were so all-encompassing, so impassioned, so inspiring! 

Yet it is the true spirit of the Gospels we find evident in THE LORD OF THE RINGS and particularly, in THE RETURN OF THE KING:  Providence supports us in life’s struggles, conflicts and temptations not only through the legends and prophecies of old, but through the intimate and immediate bonds of like-minded friends.  Friends who support and challenge, live, love and hope together. Sounds a little bit like the spirit that the “Church” is called to cultivate, doesn’t it? 

Be warned: THE RETURN OF THE KING isn’t a perfect movie. But I must say that there are omissions of plot and character development that, if added, would have made it perfect. (I missed seeing Aragorn’s reviving Eowyn from her near-fatal Nazgul wound; I would have liked to see more indication of Eowyn’s blossoming relationship with Faramir.)  Also, much to my surprise, this third film begins a bit awkwardly. I kept expecting expressions of thought and feeling to arrive in the opening scenes that never came to light. Perhaps cut due to time constraints. Not to worry, though.  We start feeling moved and engaged in the saga quite soon enough. (And, of course, we shall anxiously await the release of the extended DVD version next Christmastime.)

With those qualifications stated, there’s so much about this current presentation of THE RETURN OF THE KING that is deserving of our attention, and, dare I say, repeated visits to the Cineplex.  Here are a few of the highlights: 

Once again, we have an inspired musical score by Howard Shore to savor. As with THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING and THE TWO TOWERS, the composer continues to sustain and support the drama with authentic emotion: feverish, percussive dissonance for the plot’s conflicts and battles (each note of “Shelob’s Lair” makes the spectacular spider visuals on the screen come more and more alive); heightened, sweeping melody, for moments of valor and bravery, and, in this film, even more hauntingly beautiful ballads and symphonic contrasts as fear and violence give way to hope and future.  In the poignant closing scenes, Shore’s music articulates what dialogue would not accomplish half so well: Providence is evidenced as the source of the protagonists’ strengths and of the goodness within them. The music added to Jackson’s inspired staging of these scenes, and the acting skills of a terrific cast drive home the message of true humility and provide us with a most fitting catharsis:  It is our collective achievements for goodness that catch us up in that which is much greater than ourselves (i.e. GOD). This is perhaps the most profound message of the film.

For all its spectacle and marvelous effects (Aragon leading the souls of the dead to battle is phenomenal and not to be missed!), great music and art direction—and these are truly TERRIFIC!--the heart of THE RETURN OF THE KING is relationship. So it is for all great drama as it is for our own lives. After all, in the end, whether it be the tale of LORD OF THE RINGS, or our own life’s journey, are not our relationships what matter most?  Relationships centered in God in collaboration with all God’s people.

Like its predecessors in the trilogy, THE RETURN OF THE KING evokes the most central longings of our hearts.  It captures our imaginations in ways that ground us in the realities of evil and life’s all too many temptations.  At the same time it inspires us to persevere with hope and share light as we encounter it. A crown must be bestowed on screenwriters Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens and Peter Jackson and all of the actors for being so faithful to the story’s true witness.

I wager fans will flock to repeated viewings of Peter Jackson’s trilogy in the same way millions return to annual viewings of The Wizard of Oz.  THE RETURN OF THE KING is a movie for all adult-minded, spiritual people who, for all of life’s demands and terrors, insist on cultivating goodness, clinging to hope, willing to remain young at heart yet unafraid of suffering and its redemptive power.

For more Reviews and Reflections on RETURN OF THE KING and LORD OF THE RINGS check out:

http://americancatholic.org/Messenger/Dec2003/Feature2.asp

http://catholiceducation.org/articles/arts/al0196.html

And December issue of Commonweal (Text not available on line, but subscription information may be found at: http://www.commonwealmagazine.org/

An abridged version of this review may be found on the Paulist website dedicated to exploring spirituality with young adults:  www.bustedhalo.com