Legolas and I finally finished reading the Lord of the Rings trilogy by Tolkien and so last night we had a party and watched the movie, "The Return of the King" for the first time. I was very impressed with the special effects and the acting. They played their parts very well and almost all of them looked pretty much how I imagined them. I thought that Aragorn was wonderful. He was so kingly and calm, and yet, he was a warrior and a ranger as well and he knew everything about fighting and the wild.

            Legolas was great, too. I really liked the scene where he climbs up the arrows on the elephant's back and cuts the rope that holds the whole group of Southrons. He was certainly never afraid of anything. Gandalf was fantastic! He was the perfect emblem of good and even when Denethor had despaired and called the retreat, Gandalf kept fighting.

            Having read so much mythology where the heroes go to the realms of the dead, or the underworld, I thought it very interesting that Aragorn went through the Paths of the Dead, inside the mountain, to summon the oath-breakers to fulfill their oaths

             I don't think that the script was as good as in the other two movies. There were not as many good lines and I got the impression that the movie-makers got tired of making the movie and rushed through the last part without stopping to think of some really good lines. For instance at Aragorn's coronation I expected him to say something a little more stirring and magnificent. He should have made an admirable speech that could really encourage his people.

.           In the book, Gollum did not deceive Frodo like he did in the movie but I think that the movie shows just how base the ring had made Gollum. He told Frodo a bunch of lies, promised not to harm him, but then he deserted him in Shelob's cave to die. It also shows how the ring blinded Frodo to the truth so that he chose a slinking, skulking, sneak like Gollum over Sam, his best friend who loved him and was even giving him his share of the food and water. Sam was an incredible hero to push through to save Frodo even after Frodo sent him home and went with Gollum and, in the end, Frodo realized that Sam was his real friend when Sam risked everything to rescue him in Cirith Ungol.

            I thought that Peter Jackson did a great job portraying evil and how ugly it is. He made the Orcs simply disgusting and as soon as I saw Minas Morgul, I knew that it was evil. The contrast between good and evil is so sharp that when you look at the battle scenes, you just know which side is evil and which side is good.

            Overall, I really enjoyed the books and the movies. The books are very well-written and the movies are incredible, too. They are full of adventure and they inspire you to be a hero in this life. And they teach us that fairytales really are true because one day the King really will return.

Frodo