The Lord of the Rings - The Return of the King (2003)

Redefines Catharsis

Ambitious in vision, epic in scope, and beautiful in execution, Peter Jackson's "Return of the King" is a fitting end to his adaptation of "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy that is a magnum opus if there ever was one. Everything that you loved about the first two movies are here--if you didn't love or see the first two, don't bother with this, because it's literally the direct continuation--though things in this one take all of that to the next level. While the first two movies were entertaining and told great stories, they were largely build-up for the various climaxes that redefine the term "catharsis" of this movie.

Jackson does a stellar job in adapting these acclaimed books into what may be the best fantasy trilogy of all time, ending it as nicely as he begun it. The level of quality remains consistent throughout, and the level of attention given to each battle, each character moment, each bit of score (which, alone, was tragically beautiful), and each special effect is commendable. Not only did Jackson do a great job of translating the book to work as a film, he also showed a large amount of bravery while doing so. Many lovers of the book might have been disappointed with how Jackson tampered with the structure of the book (leaving out how Saruman took out The Shire in the book version, as well as restructuring Frodo, Sam, and Gollum's journey, moving the Shelob build-up and conflict to this movie instead of keeping it as a part of The Two Towers, but for me that just showed that he was willing to change a coupe of things to make this the best movie as it could possibly be--and his efforts paid off in large, large ways.

Though I'm giving this movie a 10/10 because it is indeed a classic and deserves full marks, it's not perfect. No movie is. I thought that the ending employed too many fade-to-whites and fade outs, which tricked the audience many times over, making them think it was about to end. If Jackson had just used cuts instead of fades, it would have been fine, but when he faded for the third time and the movie still didn't end, I find that most people who haven't seen it before actually laugh--and that certainly isn't what the end of the movie should do. The battle scenes are a bit drawn out, especially the scenes before Aragorn and the army of the dead arrive. Jackson could have achieved a more powerful effect if he trimmed two or three minutes off of the war scenes.

All it all, it's as perfect a fantasy film as there is out there, and highly deserves all the acclaim it's gotten. "The Return of the King" is a fitting end to one of the best stories ever told, and--despite it's length--it has high rewatchability.

10/10 Classic. July 7, 2008

A fitting conclusion to one of the best trilogy's ever.

The Return of the King is the only one of the three I actually saw in the theater.
I hated the first two at first but came to love them with repeated watching.
After having a long time to digest the first two, I had no problem sitting in the theater for three hours to witness the grand finale.
In a word, brilliant!
Brilliant from start to finish.
Beautiful cinematography, excellent acting, great story, great conclusion, great fx.
GREAT!
GREAT!!
GREAT !!!
The battles are epic, everything about this movie is epic.
Now that I've had a chance to witness the extended version I can see why Christopher Lee was ticked about having his scenes cut.
The movie would have been better with his scenes included, same with the extended Witch King scenes.
I could go on forever with how much I love this movie, or how Hollywood finally got it right by giving this movie, best of the year award.
The only thing I didn't care for was, right when you though the film was going to end, it didn't.
I think the film has five or six "endings".
That was kind of maddening especially after three hours and I had to use the restroom!!!!!!!!
That minor complaint aside, The Return of the King is a fine and splendid conclusion to an extremely epic and enjoyable trilogy.
If you're new to the "Rings" movies, start with fellowship and work your way up to this masterpiece.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!!!!!!
June 30, 2008

One of the best movies ever made

This is the pinnacle of epic movie-making. It is what Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, and so many others strove for and missed time and again. Peter Jackson has raised the bar for every director of the future with The Return of the King, the breathtaking finale of The Lord of the Rings.

Fantasy, action, drama, romance, humor - nearly every genre can be found to some degree in this film. From the unexpected beginning, which details the chance finding of the Ring at the bottom of a lake, to the action-packed climax and satisfying ending, The Return of the King is a beautiful final chapter of Tolkien's saga. Fair warning, though: it is about two minutes shy of four hours long by the time the credits roll. People with short attention spans need not apply. June 7, 2008

ok, the climax.... more of the same

nothing stood out. whatever.

greatest movie of all time it is not. May 28, 2008

"It's Him, The Eye ~ Here At The End Of All Things"

With the '03 release of `The Return of the King', the third and final film in the `Lord of the Rings' trilogy one can only seat back and marvel at the remarkable feat accomplished by Peter Jackson and crew. When one wants to speak of something that is truly of epic proportions this is now and will be for quite sometime the benchmark by which all other attempts will be measured. There simply isn't enough good things one could say about Frodo and company, a landmark ending to an unforgettable saga that only gets better with repeated viewings.

If your personal DVD library is absent copies of `The Fellowship of the Ring", `The Two Towers' and `The Return of the King' you're missing the best of the best. May 25, 2008

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