Slowly Learning...

So I was a little slow on the ticket front, and I underestimated the
Ithaca crowd, and couldn't see the movie at Midnight, or at the other
latter times on Wed, but I did manage to get a ticket for the noon
showing. I also watched the extended versions of the first two films on
the days leading up to the 3rd, so I can feel rather confident about my
comparisons.

Return of the King was a great movie. The acting was as good as ever,
the action was fierce and well paced, and the story was great. The
script writing...well at times it was a bit too hollywood for me, in
comparison to the first two films. This is coming from someone who
never got around to reading the books, so I don't know how much of that
was Tolken and how much was the writers. I also can't say how well it
followed the book, but I'm sure it's missing some things in there (it's
impossible to get such a long book into a single movie, even one that
runs at 3.5 hours in length). I can say that it was a very brisk 3 and
a half hours though. There are enough stories going on and enough
action to keep the film moving along at a good pace. For those of you
that aren't into the series, you may not fully enjoy the movie. It
might work for you, but it's better if you've seen the first two and
know what is going on. I don't expect that this movie will bring any
new fans to the series, but it should please the ones who've been along
for the ride so far.

However, if I were to rank the three films I'd have to put them in order
I think. Although many will disagree with me I still think that
Fellowship is the best of the group. It may be personal taste, but I
enjoyed the story the best in that one. I also am more of a fan of
intimate battle scenes like the fight in the mines with the cave troll,
or the ending battle with the orks. It gives you more of a personal
feel in the battle as you can keep track of what's happening. Plus it
also just seems more believable to me that the stronger fighters would
always survive in the smaller skirmishes where there is less of a chance
of being taken out by accident or something. I also like the fact that
the hobbits are the foolish creatures (makes sense since they never
leave their homes and are mischivous to start with) insted of the dwarf
who should be proud and tough, not comical and stupid. Fellowship also
has a more straightforward story without lots of unexplained magic/luck
(maybe it's explained in the books, but the movies don't always cover
it).

Two Towers also had its moments. Upon rewatching Helms Deep I did
change my mind about the battle some. Still I have a couple problems
(throwing the dwarf, 2 vs. Infinity on the bridge, etc.) but it was
better the second time around. The whole appearance of Gandolf the
White was a bit glossed over though. You do have to give points to the
whole Golem thing though. He did have a good role in Towers with a nice
little speech/arguement. Maybe it was the uniqueness and newness factor
playing a part, but his role in King just wasn't the same in my mind.
Something was off with his actions and lines. He deserved a supporting
actor nod for Towers, not for King.

Maybe after seeing Return of the King again (in the theatre or on DVD)
I'll get to like it better, and maybe it'll pass Two Towers on my list,
but I doubt it'll ever be better than Fellowship for me. Basically what
it comes down to in my ranking is the Legolas factor. He was awsomely
cool in Fellowship with his marksmanship and his agility. He started to
go a bit over the top with the shield riding stunt (and the horse
mounting grab, but that was just awsome) in Two Towers. He just really
freaked it all out with the Elaphant mount/distruction in Return of the
King. Play up the Elf, but give him limitations people.

RATING: Definite Full Price, Worth a Purchase