THE RETURN OF THE KING

Well, I've finally watched it... RoTK... My verdict? Definitely one of the best movie I've ever seen. Do I like it? Well, yes. How good I think it is? Spectacular battle scenes, great emotional storyline... BUT... still inferior compared to the books. :p Hahahaha, well, to give PJ credits, he did decently well in RoTK (but wat he did to the The Siege of Gondor and The Battle of the Pelennor Fields will certainly be a landmark in movie-making history! They're so good, it's almost unreal!)

Well, good thing I went into the cinema without much expectation for faithfulness to the book. The faithfulness in the movie is not as good as FoTR, but (THANK GOD) it's more faithful than TTT [which is still a blasphemy to me... >=( ]. The differences from the book are as clear as sky and earth, but well, I accept them, quite calmly. After the perversion of the character of Faramir in TTT, any changes are bearable, I guess... But if there's one thing I really dislike, is the treatment of Denethor's character, and Gandalf's reaction towards that change...

For some reason, PJ (Peter Jackson, the director) seems to messed up with the father-sons trio, Boromir, Faramir, and Denethor. Well, not Boromir really, he's quite decent, but Denethor and Faramir... Sigh... I'll skip the blashemy of Faramir, but wat they did to Denethor really is questionable... Instead of a noble, strong-willed leader who collapse into a state of madness after he despaired, Denethor is a bloody a**. He's really a fool in the movie. Refused to call for aid, eat like a dog, let Gandalf hit him, climb over him, and all that. Wat Gandalf did to the Steward of Gondor is horribly outrageous. I'm very disappointed at Gandalf... Wat the heck is PJ thinking?

PJ must have skipped this line from LoTR when he's reading the book:
"Who is the master of Minas Tirith? ... The Lord Denethor or the Grey Wanderer?"

PJ, u can be such an a** sumtimes... >=( And yet, u can be impossibly good at others... <=) Shelob is seriously scary, and the armies of the dead is... kewl! The scene at Mount Doom is also great!

And the greatest loss in the movie is the absence of courtship and romance between Faramir (again) and Eowyn... That's a heavy loss indeed, espeacially since Eowyn is my fav character in LoTR, and they've denied her the happy ending! &^$^@* But well, I can see why the're not included... The movie is over-packed adi! Haha... I'll juz wait for the Extended Edition VCD, I guess. Oh ya, Eomer has been reduced to a mere name. Sheesh... >=(

So, do I think RoTK is worth watching? If u are still reading and has yet to watch it, go do urself a favor. Go pick up the phone, and book urself tickets to watch that show. Better still, go buy the tickets for the next showing now!!! It's one of the best movie ever made, the battle scenes are unbelievable (still an understatement) and the emotional impact of da movie is powerful (yea yea, I shed tears at the ending, serious). It only deserves a full 5 stars out of 5, though I have my own personal grudges against it. A cinematic masterpiece!