I finally did it. I finally sat down and watched all of the Lord of the Rings movies. And, yes, I loved the whole trilogy. I'll address each one individually.
Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring
This one was my least favorite of the trilogy, definitely. It was good, don't get me wrong, but it was pretty predictable, and there was a lot left to be desired. A lot of the dialogue was bland and there was a lot of telling, not showing, which breaks one of the cardinal rules of screenwriting. But, as an introduction to characters and themes, a setup of the grandiose and immersive world, and an emotionally compelling story, it was really good, no doubt. That I didn't think it was perfect is blasphemy, I'm sure, but I calls 'em as I sees 'em. I think an 8 is pushing it, so I'm gonna give this a 7.75/10.
Favorite line: A lot of epic sounding dialogue in this one. Maybe, "Even the smallest person can change the course of the future." Simple statement of theme that worked for what it was.
Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
So I was obviously somewhat disappointed by the first installment of the series. "Is this what all the hype is about?" I thought. But, I was still interested in the fates of characters who I was now emotionally invested in, so I sat down to watch this feeling wary but optimistic.
Oh. My. God.
This one was SO GOOD. Gollum is one of the more interesting and compelling characters I've ever seen on film, and the other characters really came into their own as well. And the writing fixed a lot of the problems I had with the first one, keeping the long-winded monologues to a minimum, not painting bad people as all bad and good people as all good and nothing else, showing instead of telling. AND THE HELM'S DEEP FIGHT SCENE. HOLY CRUD. I'm not sure I've seen many other things as exciting as that. Probably my favorite of the trilogy, and I now get what all the hype is about. Must credit the directing and acting for that. Couple of little things here and there, though, so not a perfect rating, but pretty close. 9.75/10
Favorite line:
Oh, I actually have to declare a tie. First, of course, "My precious." CHILLS. Smeagol/Gollum is the Darth Vader of Lord of the Rings, and the fact that I bought his inner dilemma and even sympathized with him is a testament to the writing and Andy Serkis's acting. And then, as Aragorn says, "There is always hope." Cheesy, I know, but... I found it worked. Inspiring.
Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
Another really really great movie. This one comes in just below The Two Towers for me, because I had a few pacing problems with it, especially near the end, but some of the scenes, some of the themes, man, they just got me. Also, the directing in this movie is fantastic. Minus some pacing problems, the fight scenes, the intercutting of story lines, some of the most suspenseful scenes I've ever seen in any movie ever... phew, man. I realized at a certain point that EVERY time the scene cut to a different set of characters, I was thinking, "Darnit, I wanted to see what happened!" meaning I was equally invested in every character. The fight scenes were epic in scope, and the fact that Peter Jackson didn't shy away from showing soldiers dying left and right shows that he wasn't trying to give anyone any easy answers. He embraced the moral ambiguity of the trilogy, which is great. And some scenes were Hitchcockian in suspense. I mean, there was a scene where I was literally cowering behind my arms and hands between my face and the screen. It was terrifying. (For those of you who've seen it, the scene with Shelob and Frodo in the canyon.) I solely disliked the length of the epilogue and some parts of the last scenes between Frodo and Sam, which I thought really dragged on and really pulled me out of the experience, and for that it'll be a little below perfect. 9.5/10
Favorite line: Hmm... This is gonna be a long one. "Hold your ground, hold your ground! Sons of Gondor, of Rohan, my brothers! I see in your eyes the same fear that would take the heart of me. A day may come when the courage of men fails, when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship, but it is not this day. An hour of woes and shattered shields, when the age of men comes crashing down! But it is not this day! This day we fight! By all that you hold dear on this good Earth, I bid you stand, Men of the West!" Was stuck between almost crying tears of pure inspiration and getting up and beating someone up after this one. Anything that can do that... Kudos.
Trilogy as a whole
After seeing the whole thing, this is one of the greatest full trilogies or series I have ever seen. Action/Adventure/Fantasy/Family/Comedy/Tragedy/War/Epic... This does every genre justice. I may have some minor problems with each installment, but... you know what? Overall, the whole trilogy easily joins my list of favorite movies. Gotta love it when the sum is greater than the parts. 10/10
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