Peter Jackson

The Fellowship Of The Ring
*****
5/5

In the first chapter of director Peter Jackson's $300-million adaptation of JRR Tolkien's classic trilogy, Middle-earth is the fictional setting, but it's no backdrop; it's a living, breathing universe, in which mild-mannered hobbit Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood) is forced to turn hero when he inherits the ring of absolute power. Assisted by powerful wizard Gandalf (a perfectly cast Ian McKellen) and a ragtag group of warriors and friends, he must journey across mountain, forest and plain to return the talisman to its source. The computer-generated images transform the New Zealand locations into views that will take your breath away and only someone with a pathological aversion to fantasy could fail to be absorbed and transported by this stunning, sincere and frequently terrifying adaptation.

(2001)
NZ / US   Colour   171 mins

The Two Towers
*****
5/5

Under the assumption that everyone has seen The Fellowship of the Ring, director Peter Jackson here jumps straight back into the action, with only a revealing flashback to Gandalf's plunge into the void from the first film. With the fellowship fractured, the story diverges into three separate strands: Frodo and Sam's trek to Mordor, on which they are joined by the deranged Gollum; Gimli, Legolas and Aragorn's new allegiance with the imperilled kingdom of Rohan; and Merry and Pippin's affiliation with the sentient trees of Fangorn Forest. Darker and more urgent than the first film, Jackson again displays an unparalleled grasp of storytelling on a grand scale — the siege of Helm's Deep in the final hour is as heroic and spectacular as any battle scene ever committed to film and is likely to become the trilogy's standout sequence. The performances are uniformly excellent, with the original cast reinforced by strong characterisations from Brad Dourif and Bernard Hill. The most impressive contribution, however, comes from Andy Serkis, who provides the creepy tones and fluid physical movements of Gollum, the most convincing and emotionally complex CGI character created to date.

(2002)
NZ / US / GER   Colour   171 mins

The Return Of The King
*****
5/5

Peter Jackson deservedly won the best director Oscar for this powerful and enchanting concluding episode to his massively ambitious adaptation of JRR Tolkien's trilogy. It also became the first fantasy film to receive the best picture Oscar and won awards in all the categories it was nominated for, equalling the record haul of 11 set by Ben-Hur and Titanic. One staggeringly beautiful sight follows another as the brilliant ensemble cast brings Tolkien's fantasy masterpiece to life, and Jackson mixes man, myth and magic together with astonishing scope and intoxicating invention. The action picks up from The Two Towers with Frodo crawling to Mount Doom to finally destroy the ring, while Aragorn enlists an army of the dead to help Gandalf defend the besieged city of Minas Tirith from the Witch-king and his armies. Jackson's loyalty to Tolkien's over-stuffed text means certain characters get little screen time and the ending does drag on with its series of teary farewells. But these are minor gripes considering his towering achievement in creating a timeless, literate and passionate masterpiece that will live for ever. The Minas Tirith battle sequence in particular will surely go down as one of the greatest in cinema history.

(2003)
NZ / US / GER   Colour   192 mins