Out of all the Extended Editions in this trilogy, this one isn’t better than the theatrical cut. For FELLOWSHIP OF THE RINGS, the Extended Edition made the film brilliant. Too many key character moments were cut for the theaters. For TWO TOWERS, the Extended Edition didn’t monumentally change the film, but it added some nice character moments that improved the story. For RETURN OF THE KING, many of the new moments make the sections they were added too seem to drag. I didn’t feel this way about any of the new scenes in the other two films.
I love the addition of Saruman (Christopher Lee, STAR WARS: EPISODE II: ATTACK OF THE CLONES) into the film. Something seemed unfinished without him in the theatrical cut, however the scene does go on a bit too long. Most of the other new moments flowed smoothly into the film. Toward the end the addition of the Mouth of Sauron character is nice, because the character is cool and the scene ends wonderfully, but the scene is too long and throws off the pacing in a key time in the film.
In the end, the film is still the best of the series and I’d recommend the Extended Edition to any fan of the series. However, I’d also recommend that fans also pick up the theatrical cut as well before it disappears forever in the world of revisionist filmmaking.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
