The King... has returned

[nendil]

We got to the theater at 8pm. There was only one other group there, though decked out in full cosplay regalia they were. WTF? Where were all the fans? XP

Well, the line sort of made an effort to form by 11:30, and the theater was just about filled up, but overall not a very enthusiastic crowd. Oh well, more for us XP


My favorite scene: When Aragorn almost marries Legolas XD XD XD

Okay, not really. I loved just about all of the war scenes; the cinematography and special effects were AMAZING. The best would probably be Eowyn (and Merry) vs. the Witch King - that was right out of the book and perfectly done. Legolas's Mumak attack also gets a mention just because it's so crazy, though it's far from a favorite scene because it's just Legolas being extraneously show-offy. XD

Oh, and also the breathtaking scene near the beginning when Pippin lights the signal fire, and it spreads over the distant mountain tops, all the way to Theoden announcing "...And Rohan will answer!" ::cheer::

Now, how good an actor is Bernard Hill, to move me with SO FEW LINES?

Damn, Pippin has a hella good singing voice.

I wonder where that roundish scar on Frodo's upper right (our left) chest came from?

My main quibble over the whole film would probably be that Gandalf seemed a bit off character, what with going all haywire on Denethor the whole time. (Denethor's death, BTW, was way too bizarrely cartoony.) Also, he has a Dumbledore moment XP The ass-kicking-ness, though, makes me very impressed with Ian McKellen.

Protest as you may, I don't think there's any way the Scouring of the Shire could've fit into the movie. By the time the Ring is destroyed, you've been through so much hell with the characters that you're just glad it's all resolved and over. And I know the Scouring's suppose to be thematically significant and all, but I like my mostly-happy-feeling endings. I do wish the Shire would've changed SOMEWHAT though, instead of remaining exactly the way it was as they left it.


Overall, I simply can't wait for the extended DVDs, not just for the extra scenes but to see the documentaries on HOW THE HELL they did it all. Just amazing amounts of work.

Comments

[ctrl-a.livejournal.com]

Having the Shire change IS the thematic significance. I mean, especially since they had that conversation in the extended Fellowship where the Hobbits say what happens beyond their borders is not their business -- the whole point is that they're WRONG. I liked that they had Merry mention it to Pippin after the Entmoot, how even the Shire would be swallowed by the war, but they really needed to make it more real somehow. They even showed the ruined Shire when Frodo looked in Galadriel's Mirror -- even though it was supposed to be Sam's vision, which is a different complaint entirely -- but they didn't do anything with it. The Hobbits needed a wake-up call that they couldn't shut the world out, and they didn't get it. And even if some people think their stupidity and simplicity is worth protecting, I liked it much better when they were reminded of hardship.

And when was this Dumbledore moment of which you speak?

[nendil.livejournal.com]

Well um, yeah, I _did_ wish the Shire had changed. I cried my eyes out when I really read that part in the book for the first time. I'm just saying that the Scouring couldn't have fit into the movie as things were.

Gandalf: "Death is merely another adventure blah blah blah Grey Havens blah blah blah..."

[erichowens.livejournal.com]

See, I more thought the Dumbledore moment as Frodo waking up in the bed after saving the world with the sparklingeyed wizard watching him. C'mon!