Finally!

Well, I finally went and saw Return of the King today/tonight, and for the most part, it is everything I'd been led by the first two to expect. LOTR is a flat-out brilliant achievement. Whether it wins awards or not, I suspect that it will be the movie from the early 21st that people remember generations from now.

The third installment does run a little long--there were places where I was surprised that the editing wasn't a little tighter. I suspect that the opening scene, for example, is simply a chance for Andy Serkis to get some actual (as opposed to animated) face time on screen, and as you might recall from my post about The Two Towers, Faramir's character was gutted in the second movie, only to be picked up in the third without much rationale. And his father, Denethor, who was likewise gutted, has this whole bizarre self-immolation thing that just seems to be a distraction.

There wasn't as much emotional impact in this final installment, either. The two scenes that really moved me both belonged to Gandalf, one where he talks to Pippin about what happens after death, and then the scene where Frodo wakes up in Minas Tirith. There were other scenes, but for whatever reason, I left the movie today with a real appreciation for Ian McKellen.

Despite these mild shortcomings, it wouldn't surprise me at all to see a pretty broad sweep of awards for LOTR this year. I suspect that it'll be some time before we encounter anything on the screen quite like it. Which is as it should be, I suppose, but also a little sad.

So, if you haven't, go see it. Now.