Please don't hate on me for saying this.. - The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) Discussion

[–] peterkneter (383) 6 years ago

It did not age well with all the cgi....

reply

[–] ebhaynz (3688) 6 years ago

You're right, the CGI looks like they rushed it. They didn't totally screw it up but it could have been epic.

reply

[–] peterkneter (383) 6 years ago

Yea I mean - The movie is 15 Years old. They surely did not rush it. They were not able to do it better these days....

reply

[–] ebhaynz (3688) 6 years ago

the entrance into the volcano - ugh

reply

[–] [deleted] 6 years ago

The Ghost army looks like the leftovers from the frighteners.

reply

[–] BourbonKing (5777) 5 years ago

CGI today is like 50% crap compared to a well-crafted older movie using less digitally enhanced. It's all about budget and commitment to quality. I think to call out an old movie as not aging well just because of CGI is a rather shallow comment. LotR movies have certain flaws and plot aspects I'd like to see redone myself but they don't hinder the overall success and impact those movies have had on successive movies that have followed.

reply

[–] peterkneter (383) 5 years ago

dont want to make the whole movie bad but in scnens with heavy cgi the movie looses me as audience. I am kicked out of the mood. It is not so bad in the first two parts but especially in the third.

reply

[–] SlackerInc (1101) 3 years ago

I thought the effects were weakest in the first film, and best in the second.

reply

[–] R_Kane (15828) 6 years ago

The first one IS better. You can’t replace the first time that you enter Middle-earth. Impossible.

I pity those of you who can’t get past older CGI technology. You don’t deserve to enjoy TLOTR movies; so I’d say that justice is served.

reply

[–] [deleted] 6 years ago

"I pity those of you who can’t get past older CGI technology."

100% this. So bored of the people who can't discuss the film without endlessly babbling about CGI. CGI gluttony is the reason I don't bother with most films anymore. Hadn't it been for Tolkien's writings being the inspiration for LOTRs I'd have skipped them too.

reply

[–] PrimeMinisterX (8707) 6 years ago

Agreed. I don't get why people talk shit on the CGI especially when THE CGI IS NOT EVEN BAD! It may not look like the BEST CGI that we have today, but it still looks pretty good and holds up well, in my opinion.

What a bunch of weirdos. Isn't good storytelling the cornerstone of good films anyway?

reply

[–] PrimeMinisterX (8707) 6 years ago

Agreed on the first time you enter Middle Earth. I still remember going to see the first film at the theater and the experience was PURE MAGIC. I had a buzz--like a certain afterglow--about me for a few hours after the film was over. It was just that damn good. Seeing Two Towers and ROTK was also fun, but not the same.

To this day Fellowship is still, by far, my favorite of the three films. It's the only one that I can still rewatch over and over and enjoy it every time. TTT and ROTK I have only looped back around to a few times a piece.

reply

[–] AmeriGirl26 (14381) 5 years ago

I am perfectly happy with the special-effects they used in these films. It looks almost completely real, and you KNOW when they would have used CGI, because frankly, there are just some shots that could not be done in the real world. I have seen much worse CGI usage with other films, and frankly, these don't count.

I remember watching the Behind-the-Scenes, and learning that they used MASSIVE technology to create the armies fighting at a distance. That was revolutionary in re-creating the major battles in the films, without having to use tons of stuntmen. Some of the landscapes also could not be reproduced, despite having New Zealand's southern island to work with. I mean, how are you supposed to get a volcano to erupt on cue? You can't. And those ginormous elephants were just MIND-BLOWING to see in the final battle. I could go on, but you get the idea.

reply

[–] Scape (526) 5 years ago

“Seen much worse CGI usage with other films” = The Hobbit movies...

reply

[–] AmeriGirl26 (14381) 5 years ago

No, I was thinking more along the lines of "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow," or "Super Mario Brothers."

reply

[–] Moonglum9 (11267) 5 years ago

You can’t replace the first time that you enter Middle-earth. Impossible.

Agreed R_Kane (hey! I've seen your name many times on this board and this is the first time that I actually got it. Damn I'm slow). One of my most intense movie memories ever is seeing this in the theater and watching as Sauron strides into battle at the beginning of this movie and starts swinging his giant mace, sending bunches of the enemy flying backwards with each mighty sweep!

reply

[–] Iffy762 (1334) 4 years ago

oh my gosh, amazing scene. gives me spine chills every time

reply

[–] [deleted] 6 years ago

The one thing i miss which goes for the whole trilogy is how they skipped out on showing most of the other side of the ring, the powerful side, the ring isn't just a drug but also a weapon. In the animated films they gave us much more on what you can use it for. If you only saw the live action movies you won't really know why everyone is going so crazy over the ring except that you can somehow use it to rule the world. No more details than that.

reply

[–] Iffy762 (1334) 4 years ago

But, to be fair (oh person who left two years ago), the books didn't really talk much about the ring as a weapon. It's just hinted at, by Gandalf and the elves.

reply

[–] Otter (24464) 6 years ago

I agree with you, I think ROTK is the weakest of the three films.

You could see PJ beginning to lose his grip on the editing in that film, scenes went on too long or included stuff that didn't work, and that laxness went on to ruin subsequent films like "King Kong" and "The Hobbits" trilogy. Apparently PJ himself doesn't know when to stop when he gets ahold of something he thinks is cool, what he needs most in the world is an editor who will quite literally cut the crap.

reply

[–] spurtle467 (1546) 6 years ago

Totally agree with this. This had the signs of PJ getting out of control. The scene with Legolas for example, taking on the Oliphant single-handedly, was the kind over excessive CGI laden set piece that has plagued movies of his since.

This is my least favourite of the trilogy but it's still good.

reply

[–] howgamer (3929) 6 years ago

IMO, Fellowship is by far the best in the trilogy. Best story, character development, and acting. The others are much more action driven, but Fellowship fleshes out the characters, their relationships, and the world much better. We also get two tragic deaths which adds to the drama. I don't think ROTK or the TT are bad by any means, I just think Fellowship is a much more well constructed and dramatic film while the other two rely too much on action and being epic.

reply

[–] Ace_Spade (9544) 6 years ago

I agree. Fellowship was the best, particularly the extended edition. My one complaint with the film in theatres was that Galadriel came off as sinister and evil, but in the EE, she's better balanced.

It helps, though, that my favourite book of the three is Fellowship. It contains some of the best moments in the trilogy, many of my favourites.

The Two Towers was my least favourite film. I thought it strayed unnecessarily from the source material and left out some bits which were great (bits that they might have preserved had they not been unnecessarily straying from the source material).

reply

[–] TexasJack (12516) 6 years ago

No hate! But I disagree. I think ROTK was the best of the three. I think the lighting of the beacons and the Rohirrim charge into the orc army were among the best scenes in movie history.

reply

[–] KCurmudgeon (263) 5 years ago

There were certainly fails in this film such as the pop-culture pandering Legolas-skate-boarding-down-the-Oiliphant , excluding the Battle of the Shire and the absurdly over-long epilogue, but I gotta say the charge of the Rhoirrim brings tears to my eyes every time. Of course it also helps that my favorite scene since the book days has always been Eowyn's "I am no man!"

reply

[–] kenburke (2369) 6 years ago

There's no reason to hate you, we all have our likes and dislikes. Screw haters, that's what I say!!!

reply

[–] janelsenor (2044) 6 years ago

Agreed 100%. This is the movie where Jackson starting getting out of control and showing no restraint. It worked at the time, because this was the epic finale. But when he continued with that same crap from the beginning with the Hobbit trilogy, we all saw the writing on the wall....

reply