In the study, Roger Ebert looked at the agent sitting across from him. "My online column is ready. Tell them I will keep following this movie until the Oscars next year."
"Then let's leave it at that for now." The agent stood up. "I'll be going now, Roger."
"Wait!"
Roger Ebert stopped him, reminding him, "Make sure the money is paid, not a penny less!"
The agent nodded, turned, and walked toward the door. His lips trembled slightly; he knew just how greedy this client of his was.
Once the agent had left, Roger Ebert's eyes returned to the computer in front of him. He uploaded the already finished movie review to his online column.
"The Return of the King," endless disappointment!
"First, too hypnotic! When I watched The Fellowship of the Ring, I fell asleep. When I watched The Two Towers, I fell asleep again. And when I watched The Return of the King, I still fell asleep. Duke Rosenberg could easily switch careers to be a hypnotist. His Lord of the Rings trilogy is so boring, it's perfect for people with insomnia. It's definitely the best remedy for sleeplessness."
"Second, too expensive! According to the recently disclosed production budget, the trilogy, including The Return of the King, cost nearly 400 million dollars. To make such a dull movie with such a huge budget is a waste. If this money had been invested in independent films, how many classics like The Shawshank Redemption could have been made? Instead, this money was thrown away into the mud by Duke Rosenberg!"
"Third, the character development is problematic. Sure, it's an adaptation, but could the characters not be so shallow? In the film, all the characters are either entirely good or entirely evil. There are a few fake good ones and a few evil ones who turn good, but is the world really that simple? I think anyone with sense knows that the world Duke Rosenberg created is as naive as a joke."
"Fourth, the scenes drag on for too long. Fight scenes are fine, but there's no need to drag them out so long. Constant fighting, it gets incredibly annoying… Duke Rosenberg should watch Braveheart and see how it focuses on the fight for freedom instead of endless combat. What could have been a brief fight is dragged out for ages, which is just terrifying."
"Fifth, the dialogue is poor. Even when you consider the entire trilogy, there aren't any memorable, classic lines. Any truly touching film has at least a few lines that leave a lasting impression, but here, there are none. This is the fault of the director, Duke Rosenberg. His films have always been synonymous with shallowness."
"Sixth, the editing is problematic..."
Even though he hadn't finished the first film, had never seen the second, and had only watched half of the third, Roger Ebert still managed to easily write a movie review full of harsh, biting language.
Whether or not he had seen the films didn't matter. What mattered was that he had to attack the director and his work. Besides, he hadn't really watched many of the films he reviewed in the past either.
Now, Roger Ebert didn't lack attention. As soon as the review was published, there were already comments flooding in.
Roger Ebert couldn't resist glancing at them. He hoped to find voices supporting his views, but after reading just a few lines, his eyes twitched slightly.
"Mr. Ebert, I've always been a supporter of yours, but I don't agree with your opinion this time. Duke Rosenberg is definitely not as bad as you say. I just watched The Return of the King, and I also watched The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers a couple of years ago. While I'm not a fantasy film fan, I still acknowledge Duke Rosenberg's ability."
"To create such an epic, the director is undoubtedly a very capable person. The three films were made very systematically, and most importantly, he paid great attention to detail, with every part being very meticulous. Such a grand project must have a great leader. Duke Rosenberg is amazing…"
Seeing this, Roger Ebert couldn't hold himself back and quickly deleted the comment with a shake of his mouse hand.
But then Roger Ebert noticed that almost all of the comments were opposing his views. Any comment that didn't agree with him was deleted.
The few comments that did support him were, of course, kept, but there weren't many.
"First film: it really felt like an epic, kind of interesting, not bad, though the ending was a bit dragged out and left me dizzy by the time it was over."
"Second film: It was just boring, endless fighting, human vs. human, human vs. orcs, it made me irritated and I almost fell asleep. There were no classic lines in the dialogue, so I left halfway through."
"Third film: The scenes were grander, the monsters had more layers, but it got even more boring. I just couldn't finish watching. With about an hour left, I left the theater. I didn't want to torture myself anymore."
Roger Ebert nodded. He still had some supporters.
Next, he switched to IMDb, where he immediately saw The Return of the King with an average rating of 9.7 from 5,266 users. Without thinking, he closed the page and went to another site, specifically logging onto a very popular real-time sharing site to check the comments there.
The reviews were mixed, but he opened one:
"Why is The Return of the King so highly praised? It's not as good as it's made out to be. The visuals are grand, but not as good as Starship Troopers. Many other films are better in terms of visual effects. The Lord of the Rings trilogy doesn't deserve all this praise..."
A fan of Starship Troopers? Roger Ebert frowned. He didn't like the Lord of the Rings trilogy, but comparing it to Starship Troopers… that was just foolish.
Sure enough, there were many rebuttals underneath:
"Starship Troopers compared to The Lord of the Rings is laughable. You're an ignorant film fan. I don't mean to say Starship Troopers is bad, but it's nothing compared to The Lord of the Rings."
"Please, have you even seen The Lord of the Rings? If film ratings were 100 points, I'd give The Lord of the Rings 98. Starship Troopers barely gets 70. The Lord of the Rings will always be a classic in my heart."
"This review is hilarious! I was going to say something, but now I see it's not even worth it…"
Though he forced himself to focus on the negative reviews, the positive feedback was overwhelming. No matter how unwilling Roger Ebert was to see it, there were still many comments flooding in.
"The Return of the King — achieving a dreamlike miracle."
As is well-known, no trilogy in film history has ever been perfect, but today that history ends. The Return of the King has finally completed the impossible task of bringing a trilogy to a perfect conclusion, creating a dreamlike miracle."
"The three-hour film felt so precious. The audience didn't want to blink, afraid of missing even a second of the plot and visuals. Compared to other so-called 'super-shocking' films, what's valuable about The Return of the King is that it never numbs you, it only makes you feel elated and grateful to be alive today. Yes, this is the highest form of 'beauty' shock!"
Roger Ebert wanted to delete this comment, but unfortunately, this was a real-time sharing site, and he had no authority.
As he read on, more and more users flooded in, viewing the comment. Within just a few minutes, it had received over a thousand likes.
Some people even shared their own thoughts:
"The battles at Minas Tirith and the Pelennor Fields were unprecedented in scale. Duke's way of keeping us on edge was also unprecedented; the passionate climax waves came one after another, constantly pushing our emotions to the ultimate enjoyment."
"And Frodo and Sam's journey was unexpectedly brilliant. I originally thought it would be a peaceful path, a rest from the epic battles between man and monster. But the reality was the opposite—those huge, spectacular battle scenes made my blood boil with excitement, and I loved every second of it. But Frodo and Sam's experiences kept my heart on edge."
"That's mainly because the film invested so much effort into depicting their inner world: their vulnerability and strength, and their unbreakable friendship. This gave the fantasy film the power to capture our hearts."
Closing the window, Roger Ebert returned to the homepage of the real-time sharing site, only to find that this recently popular social network had been overwhelmed with posts about The Return of the King. Almost every post he clicked on had overwhelmingly positive reviews.
"I've always believed the opening of The Fellowship of the Ring set the stage for this series to have an effect beyond any other film. The vibrant green of the Shire, its peace, its quietude, is the most lifelike and dreamlike setting I've ever seen."
"This set the visual tone for the entire Lord of the Rings series—the dreamlike beauty. Honestly, it's hard to describe. I thought for a long time and still couldn't find a direct and suitable word for the series' visual style."
"After watching The Return of the King, I feel that calling it magnificent diminishes the term, calling it exquisite makes it seem mundane, calling it grand makes it look petty, and calling it dreamlike makes it seem false..."
"The visual effects of the Lord of the Rings trilogy transcend ordinary imagination, setting the latest dream standard for films to come. Sorry, I used the word 'dreamlike,' but it's the closest I can get to the feeling in my heart."
After reading so many of these comments, Roger Ebert finally became calm. He had been in his study working until midnight when he suddenly realized another terrifying truth.
....
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