Review of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

Extended Version!

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First let me say that if you haven't watched the extended edition DVD, then you haven't seen the whole story. There are many crucial and really big holes in the theatrical version. The EE DVD fills in most of those holes and provides continuity for the story line and for character development, e.g., Eomer (Karl Urban), Eowyn (Miranda Otto), Boromir (Sean Bean), Faramir (David Wenham), Denethor (John Noble) and Grima Wormtongue (Brad Dourif). The Mouth of Sauron (Bruce Spence) is a particularly intriguing (and ghastly) character who is left entirely out of the theatrical version. Secondly, this is the only flick that I've ever dusted off and watched so many times that I can't count them. I'm talking about the entire trilogy, of course. The unfortunate thing about such an epic motion picture is that some of the actors may spend the rest of their lives making themselves believable in other roles. Karl Urban won't be one of those, however. His role in The Bourne Supremacy was very believable...and of course he had an entirely different look, which helps immensely. I'll close by saying that I think that one of the most inspiring sequences in the trilogy is when Aragorn prepares and dresses for battle at Helm's Deep. Two of the saddest scenes are when Boromir dies close to the end of Fellowship while acknowledging Aragorn as his brother, his captain, his king...and when Haldir (Craig Parker) dies at Helm's Deep while fleetingly surveying his Elven Dead on the battlements.

9/10

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