Lord of the Rings: Part 3

With the magnificent scale of the first two films there was a lot of excitement for the third film, and it delivered on to an unprecedented degree. It is the only one of the three films to win the Academy Award for Best Picture in its year, and it’s not hard to see why. The stunning conclusion to the trilogy is a marvellous piece of film making, tying up every loose end perfectly, and completing one of the most successful film trilogies in cinema history.

The plot carries on from the end of The Two Towers with Gollum leading Frodo and Sam to Mordor, but planning to kill them on the way. Also, the armies of Mordor are gathering strength and are ready to battle for the future of Middle Earth. We are introduced to Gondor, and the future of Middle Earth is ultimately decided. The scale of this movie is phenomenal, and the audience is never allowed to drift into boredom because there is always something happening.

Now, I am critical of this film in two main ways. Firstly, Frodo’s confrontation with the giant spider, Shelob, doesn’t happen in the Return of the King, but is in the end of The Two Towers book. I guess without the inclusion of this scene in the film there wouldn’t be much to do with Frodo and Sam in this film. Cinematic license once again defeats my criticism, and it’s a welcome addition to the film. My second gripe is another issue with the adaptation from the book. With the other two film adaptations, the bits left out of the book are understandable by their relative insignificance, however, at the end of the Return of the King, the Hobbits return to the Shire and find it is in the grasp of Saruman. I would quite liked to have seen this in the film, but I guess it doesn’t bring anything to the film, and so could be easily excluded.

The Hobbits themselves are the crucial characters in the whole series. The idea that beings so small are capable of destroying the greatest evil in their world, where Men and Wizards cannot is brilliant. As the main character, Frodo is seen to change massively throughout the series. If you look at Frodo at the beginning of the series, and then just before the end of the quest it can be seen how different he is. The credit here has to go to Elijah Wood who manages to make this a gradual development, rather than a sudden snap. Frodo’s friendship with Sam is another central theme of the movies, and Sean Astin conveys Sam’s devotion to Frodo perfectly. The touch of comedy that is added by Merry and Pippin lightens the tone of the films, but they too play a pivotal role in the films, and I especially like the scene in The Return of the King when, just before the eruption of Mount Doom, they are screaming Frodo’s name on the battlefield, and then the emotion they show when the mountain erupts.

Now Gollum is a tricky one. His character must have been difficult to cast, and Andy Serkis is pure perfection. He is such a fantastic and under-rated actor. While Gollum is obviously a computer-generated, I believe that the motion was actually provided by Serkis, and his dedication to the role goes above and beyond any other actor in the films. Also, the voice of Gollum (also Serkis) is exactly how I imagine him speaking. Andy Serkis surpasses himself in the trilogy, managing to play the two different sides of Gollum magnificently, and in relatively quick succession too. For me, the finest thing about the Lord of the Rings is not the location scouting, or the story, or the scale of the films, it is Gollum. People notice the character, but in my opinion, not enough credit is given to the actor.

In The Return of the King we are introduced to the Kingdom of Gondor. While it’s not our first contact with Gondor, it is the first time we see Minas Tirith, the capital. We are introduced to Boromir in The Fellowship of the Ring, obviously, but in The Two Towers we see Faramir. Faramir does what his brother could not, and lets the Ring go, and while he’s not in The Return of the King much, due to his being injured for a lot of the film, the scene where his father thinks he is dead and tries to cremate the both of them sticks in my mind. Faramir is a strong character who steps out of the shadow of his brother’s legacy and shows incredible bravery to ride out in an attempt to defend his city. His father, Denethor, is thoroughly unlikeable. A combination of his weakness as a ruler, his lack of defence of Gondor, his denial of Aragorn’s ascent to the throne, or his attempts to burn Faramir add up to leave the audience slightly glad that he decides to burn himself to death. It also means that some resistance to Sauron can be mustered. Gondor is talked of as a great power in the Lord of the Rings, and we don’t really see this until the last half of the last film, but when it does come to pass, a spectacular battle commences and this strength is finally seen.

The whole Lord of the Rings series is unforgettable as a series, and is unrivalled in terms of the production of nearly every aspect of the films. The special effects are something special, and tourism to New Zealand can only have increased as a result of the spectacular scenery seen in the films. The actors are incredible, and the story is told so perfectly that it is difficult to say bad things about the films. All three films have to be must see films, and they are all modern classic masterpieces.

Lord of the Rings: Part 2

As the second installment in the Lord of the Rings series, The Two Towers has quite a high standard to live up to. It doesn't disappoint either, with some epic scenes, battles and characters.

Once again, the adaptation from the book is excellent, and the combination of the spectacular locations, fantastic action scenes and marvelous special effects result in an epic film which continues where The Fellowship of the Ring left off in more ways than one. The battle of Helm’s Deep is directed and produced much better than any of the fight scenes in The Fellowship of the Ring, and it’s one of the only cinematic battles that I’ve cared about and passionately wanted the bad guys to be defeated.

For me, this film rightfully focuses on Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas, and the relationship between the three is the foundation for this film. The competitive spirit between Gimli and Legolas, Gimli agreeing to be tossed by Aragorn, and the understanding between Legolas and Aragorn all reflect how three characters of different kinds come together to form one of the strongest friendships in the film. Gimli is a raw example of fierce loyalty to his friends, thirst to kill orcs and his character is actually quite witty. Aragorn is the kind of character that everyone loves, and this is easy to see why. If you haven’t read the books, I’d imagine you’d be rooting for him all the way through the series, and when he eventually comes to the throne of Gondor it shows how far he has come since stalking the Hobbits in Bree. Legolas adds a bit more quirk to the trio, and is more graceful (as an Elf) than the other two, but is, if anything, much more successful in battle than the other two. As an archer he kills more orcs than the others, continually outscoring Gimli. The three characters, and the three actors, really complete the films for me. Obviously there’s the central story of the quest to destroy the Ring, but the story around Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli is no less enjoyable.

When Gandalf is added into the mix there is a dry sense of humour added, as well as an increased sense of power and success to their mission. At the end of The Fellowship of the Ring, the three agree to find Merry and Pippin who have been captured by Uruk-Hai, and the story around them in this film revolves around them trying to trace them. This leads them to both Gandalf and the kingdom of Rohan. Throughout the series, Gandalf is a fantastic character who is loved by the Lord of the Rings fans. Ian McKellen portrays the wizard masterfully. I don’t really think there’s much more to say about him. Both the character and the actor are phenomenal.

The Two Towers introduces Rohan and its people. Rohan is under the grip of Saruman, and as a result, Theoden starts off The Two Towers as a weak old man. However, throughout the series he becomes a much more powerful leader and eventually leads his people in the Battle for Middle-Earth. I find myself warming more and more to Theoden throughout the films, but not as much as his niece. Eowyn is the classic example of a woman whose society demands that she cannot do something (go to war with the men), but who steps out against this and does it anyway, even encouraging a Hobbit to come with her. Her misplaced love for Aragorn is heart-wrenching for the audience, and when she eventually finds happiness with Faramir I was very pleased for her. I can’t work out what I think of her brother though. Eomer is sent away by Saruman’s puppet, Grima Wormtongue, at the beginning of The Two Towers but he doesn’t try very hard to fight this, riding away with some loyal soldiers. When Rohan is attacked he has to be summoned to come back and eventually win the Battle of Helm’s Deep. This doesn't seem very likely to me, and surely Eomer would have tried a bit harder to remove Wormtongue’s influence from Rohan. Nevertheless he is a strong influence in the final battle. Overall, Rohan is portrayed initially as a very weak kingdom, but grows in strength as the King gets more powerful.

Sauron is the overall villain in the series, and while being completely digital for the significant majority of the films, he is wonderful. The adaptation of Tolkien’s description of him is magnificently done, and the eye is quite imposing. Throughout the film’s Sauron’s tower gets more and more exposure, and the eye receives more and more work, with it moving around in the third movie. However, his second-in-command and his cohorts, the Witch-King of Angmar and the Ringwraiths, are terrifying. In The Fellowship of the Ring the black riders are very intimidating, and the Nazgul are very scary in the second and third installments  While Sauron is not one of the greatest cinematic villains, not in the same league as Hannibal Lecter, Darth Vader etc, the way he is portrayed in the Lord of the Rings definitely increases his standing as a villain.

The Two Towers is another fantastic film, and after the epic Fellowship of the Ring it might have struggled, but there is no such difficulty. It is a marvelous adaptation from the book and has the most awesome battle of the whole series in it. It sets up the third film beautifully and definitely belongs firmly in the halls of epic films.

300 - Muscle versus Might

*May contain spoilers*

'300' is a film about the three hundred Spartan soldiers who attempt to stop the might of the Persian army at the famous Battle of Thermopylae. As a kid I was fascinated about this battle. How could three hundred soldiers hold off an entire army? As a result I was very excited when this film came out in 2006. Having recently watched it again I came to the conclusion that it wasn't one of those historical films that makes stuff up to increase the appeal of the film. The only instance of this is the use of 'bombs' by Xerxes army, and I can get past that.

The one thing that most people know about this film is when Gerard Butler screams 'This is Sparta!' and kicks the Persian messenger into a hole in the ground, and rightfully so. It's an epic line, but there are bits of the film that are just more awesome. The use of more 'comic book' blood in this film slightly masks some absolutely brilliant fighting scenes. Historically, the Spartan army is known as one of the fiercest and dangerous forces. Their soldiers are trained from children purely for the purpose of fighting and any weakness results in them being cast aside.

The fighting in this film shows how utterly dominant the Spartan army was, and I especially like the scene where the Arcadian army comes to their aid and the leader of the army questions the number of soldiers the Spartans have brought to fight. King Leonidas asks a few of the Arcadians what their profession is, receiving various answers, before asking the Spartans who respond with their battle cry. The quip 'See, I brought more soldiers than you did' is fantastic, and perfectly shows this Spartan ideology of fighting.

Speaking of King Leonidas, I thought he was a very interesting character. He is obviously the leader of the Spartan army, and surely knows that he is going to his death when he leaves to fight the Persian force. However, before he goes he makes sure he writes his name firmly into the history books. Gerard Butler plays Leonidas brilliantly, and is a dominant presence on the screen whenever he appears. I especially like the depths to his character as well. When Xerxes attempts to ally the Spartans with him by offering him leadership of all his armies he is visibly tempted, showing how much fighting meant to the Spartans. And yet his last act is to show that Xerxes, the self-proclaimed 'God-King' that he is as human as the next man, by making him bleed. The importance of his Queen is also refreshing to see. In many films there are strong women in a time where this would not have been the case, but in this case I got the feeling that Queen Gorgo was genuinely a supporting influence to Leonidas, shown by his looking to her when a number of key decisions have to be made. His obvious love for her is another interesting human feature of his character. As a solider of Sparta he is exposed to brutality, bloodshed and violence, but still finds room in his character to love another person.

Now I love a good action movie, and the inclusion of Spartan politics in 300 did not spoil this film for me. Not even the deformed hunchback ruined it. I wasn't entirely sure as I was watching the film exactly what purpose this character served. Surely if Xerxes knew there was a way around the back of the Spartan soldiers he would put his own men there to find it. He would not need the help of a deformed Spartan reject, and so I thought this bit was a bit strange, but nevertheless, it was interesting to see his obvious self-hate after he has betrayed his Spartan brothers.

300 isn't meant to be taken as a serious portrayal of these historical events, and as such it should not be reviewed as such. If it was meant in a similar line to films like Braveheart, then I would be roundly criticising it now for the lack of depth to any of the characters. But clearly it is not meant as such. The rippling abs and comic book blood show that it is definitely not a heavy film and can be enjoyed with friends. It's maybe not a family film, but it's very good to sit down and just relax to.