Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001, 2002, 2003)

            After hearing references to LOTR all my life, I can finally say I’ve seen all three. Fellowship of the Ring opens in the magical, scenic Shire and we’re introduced to lovable, adorable Hobbits. The film gets progressively darker when it’s revealed Bilbo Baggins is in possession of a ring that drives him mad and it must be taken from him. A chase begins when Frodo Baggins is given the ring and he sets out to destroy it and end all evil. Accompanied by his gardener Samwise, two Hobbit best friends Pippin and Merry, heir to the throne Aragorn, elf Legolas, dwarf Gimli, and the wizard Gandalf. The diversity in this cast was limited however the contrasting characters made the group funny and endearing.

            For the group, Two Towers was spent separated. Frodo and Sam were being led by Gollum, an evil creature to Mount Doom in order to destroy the ring. Merry and Pippin were kidnapped by Orcs and eventually escaped to the forest only to discover talking trees called Ents. Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli spent the movie chasing the Orcs to save their Hobbit friends. Exciting and suspenseful, the sequel is a great at continuing the story rather than adding on to an already finished one.

            Return of the King is when the adventure comes to a close. Everyone loves a happy ending and everything is squared away by the end. Not without at least five epic battle scenes, an array of impeccably made up creatures, friends, enemies, and even lovers. This movie nicely tied up the triology and left no questions unanswered. Finally in the third movie, a girl is added to the story as a minimal character. One of three women in the film but the only one featured in battle.

            If this movie lacked anything it was that there was only one love interest and it wasn’t really featured. For a movie this action packed, it seemed necessary. However, the lessons of friendship and sacrifice grounded the gruesome battle scenes in human nature. I felt that this movie, filmed in New Zealand, was by far the most beautiful and scenic. It was filled with lots of large shots of the mountains and trees.

            The character that was the most interesting was Gollum. Born a Hobbit named Smeagle and twisted into a disgusting looking creature called Gollum, he was the most conflicted character. Constantly he was fighting himself to be good but the ring’s power drove him mad and he could not control it. As a viewer, I felt sympathy for him. Unlike most two dimensional villians in movies, the vulnerable part of Gollum was shown to the audience. In the third movie, we even saw him as he was when he was a Hobbit. We watched the ring drive him crazy. The filmmakers choice to add the scenes where Smeagle turns in to Gollum opens him up and allows us to see him in a different light and seriously consider if he should be considered a villain.

The friendship Sam shows to Frodo is inspiring. Even when Frodo is lashing out, Sam understands that this is because of the ring and forgives him. Sam never stops helping Frodo, saving his life multiple times in fact. When they finally reach Mount Doom, both exhausted and starving, Sam says to Frodo: “I can’t carry it for you but I can carry you.” And proceeds to carry Frodo a good way up the mountain. This selfless act in the name of friendship epitomizes Samwise as a character.
            I’m so glad to have finally watched this acclaimed movies and was not disappointed. I would recommend them to anyone