- Film Review
- Reviewed By Alan Jones
-
5 out of 5
Peter Jackson deservedly won the best director Oscar for this powerful and enchanting concluding episode to his massively ambitious adaptation of JRR Tolkien's trilogy. It also became the first fantasy film to receive the best picture Oscar and won awards in all the categories it was nominated for, equalling the record haul of 11 set by Ben-Hur and Titanic. One staggeringly beautiful sight follows another as the brilliant ensemble cast brings Tolkien's fantasy masterpiece to life, and Jackson mixes man, myth and magic together with astonishing scope and intoxicating invention. The action picks up from The Two Towers with Frodo crawling to Mount Doom to finally destroy the ring, while Aragorn enlists an army of the dead to help Gandalf defend the besieged city of Minas Tirith from the Witch-king and his armies. Jackson's loyalty to Tolkien's over-stuffed text means certain characters get little screen time and the ending does drag on with its series of teary farewells. But these are minor gripes considering his towering achievement in creating a timeless, literate and passionate masterpiece that will live for ever. The Minas Tirith battle sequence in particular will surely go down as one of the greatest in cinema history.
Plot Summary
The Oscar-winning final part of Peter Jackson's adaptation of JRR Tolkien's fantasy adventure. The hobbit Frodo continues his journey to destroy the ring before the evil Lord Sauron can seize it. He is accompanied deep into Mordor by Gollum, who has a darker motive for keeping the "precious" ring close.
Cast and crew
Cast
- Frodo Baggins
- Elijah Wood
- Gandalf the White
- Ian McKellen
- Arwen Undómiel
- Liv Tyler
- Aragorn / Strider
- Viggo Mortensen
- Samwise "Sam" Gamgee
- Sean Astin
- Galadriel
- Cate Blanchett
- Gimli
- John Rhys-Davies
- King Théoden
- Bernard Hill
- Peregrin "Pippin" Took
- Billy Boyd
- Meriadoc "Merry" Brandybuck
- Dominic Monaghan
- Legolas Greenleaf
- Orlando Bloom
- Elrond
- Hugo Weaving
- Eowyn of Rohan
- Miranda Otto
- Faramir
- David Wenham
- Eomer
- Karl Urban
- Denethor, Steward of Gondor
- John Noble
- Sméagol / Gollum
- Andy Serkis
- Bilbo Baggins
- Ian Holm
- Boromir
- Sean Bean
Crew
- Director
- Peter Jackson
- Share this episode
-