The two views, presented by Ty Burr and James Bernardinelli, on "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" are not radically different. The authors were both pleased with the movie, yet they held different appreciations and expectations. While James was more on the ecstatic side, Burr was left disappointed in a few areas.
Both opinions could agree that the ending of the trilogy successfully met expectations provided by the two previous movies. "The Return of the King delivers on all the mighty expectations Peter Jackson created in the Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers" (Burr358). James felt so strongly about this that he believes the movie exceeded the anticipation, and that people who were scarred by previous trilogy let downs walked in skeptical while coming out pleasantly surprised . On the contrary, Burr saw a nearly unattainable hype the media put on the movie that wasn't quite met, "...a
Gandalf approaching Minas Tirith in the film The L...
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (vid...
Bret McKenzie as Figwit in The Lord of the Rings: ...lot of us had been hoping for a grand slam. Only in that context can an inside-the-park home run be viewed as a faint disappointment" (Burr358).
As far as the content of the movie, their reflections differed vastly. While James gave his account of the movie, he added in his animated reaction. He explored the different emotions he experienced during The Return of the King, "Along the way there are moments...that draw a tear from the eye;...cause the heart to soar;...cause the adrenaline to surge; and images of spectacle that make the jaw drop" (Bernardinelli366). Although in Burr's synopsis, he bestows a run-down of the story in great detail with little room for admiration. He was less than passionate compared to James.
The conclusion of the story left one appreciative with slight weariness and the other completely blown away. No surprise that James had...