The Return of the King - the international verdict

By MONIQUE DEVEREUX

The international verdicts trickled in yesterday but the findings were similar across the globe: The Return of the King is a blockbuster and Peter Jackson deserves an Oscar.

A strict embargo on publishing reviews of the final movie in The Lord of the Rings trilogy expired yesterday.

A theatre-full of journalists watched the film in Wellington more than a week ago but until yesterday were unable to reveal anything about it.

Hollywood Reporter said the film was "a soaring legend in its own day and destined to be cherished for many ages to come".

Entertainment website slantmagazine.com was also impressed, although slightly put out by a lack of development of the love triangle between Aragorn, Arwen and Eowyn.

Reviewer Ed Gonzalez said: "Just as Fellowship of the Ring envisioned a mythic fairyland at peace, the grease-and-elbow of Two Towers put us knee-deep in its imminent destruction. Not surprisingly, Return of the King is a ravishing work of mythic restoration."

He rated it 3 1/2 stars.

They loved it across the Tasman, too. Claire Harvey of the Australian called it staggeringly impressive and said it did everything bigger, and most things better, than the first two movies in the trilogy.

"It's worth seeing even if you hate fantasy-fiction; even if you got stuck on page five of The Hobbit; even if you thought Bilbo was an endangered chocolate marsupial."

Sydney's Daily Telegraph, which devoted much of its front page yesterday to the review, also recommended the film to those not familiar with J.R.R. Tolkien's stories.

Michael Bodey said: "Return of the King is everything the trilogy's fans could desire. It should even tempt those few who are uninitiated."

Another epic filmed in New Zealand hit United States cinemas at the weekend, and while The Last Samurai made a killing at the box office, it took a pasting in the reviews.

The Baltimore Sun said the body count was almost as high as the dead brain cell count, the Dallas Observer's review was entitled "White Dork Down" and Hollywood.com website gave it just 2.5 stars.

But the film got the cash registers ringing, taking NZ$37.7 million over the weekend. Both The Last Samurai and The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King will be released in NZ this month.

Return of the King: What they said around the world


David Ansen, Newsweek: It has spectacular action scenes and imaginary creatures, and it's by far the most moving chapter. The performances have deepened. These characters don't pop back up like cartoon figures, unscraped by experience. They've been altered by their quest, and the hurt gives flavour to the glory.

Ed Gonzalez, reviewer for the Slantmagazine website: Because Jackson spends considerable time fulfilling quotas, crucial melodramas are undervalued. Jackson is ill-prepared to handle the Aragorn-Arwen-Eowyn love triangle. The nondescript Eowyn's curious empowerment ritual is seemingly informed by a broken heart first, political-correctness second. Womanhood seems almost beside the point, when it really should be the true impetus.

Claire Harvey, the Australian: It is cinematic alchemy; as if the film-makers have taken a few paddle-pop sticks and a disposable Esky and created the Death Star.

Hollywood Reporter: Sure to be an Oscar contender in many categories and a breathtaking argument for director Peter Jackson winning every award there is to give, King has none of the usual deficiencies that frequently scuttle third films.

Michael Bodey, reviewer for the Sydney-based Daily Telegraph: The Return Of The King is glorious, thoroughly involving escapism. With some lame characterisations and the occasional flawed special effect, it's not perfect - but it comes mighty close.

Time reviewer Richard Corliss: "Here is an epic with literature's depth and opera's splendour - and one that could be achieved only in movies."

* Return Of The King opens in New Zealand on Dec. 18.

Herald Feature: Lord of the Rings