Overall a wonderful adventure, but a little long.

Rating: 9/10 (17 December 2003)

The last edition to The Lord of the Rings trilogy is extremely fulfilling. The special effects are brilliant, the computer animated creatures very lifelike and intimidating, and once again, the dynamic plot and characters draw one into the story. Bits of genius humor are scattered throughout the movie. Whether you are anti-war or not, the battle scenes are inarguably spectacular. The only qualm I had about The Return of the King was that it was very long. For the most part, one forgets the time because of the high level of engagement of the storyline. But the last half hour of this 3 and 1/2 hour production seem to drag. The producers obvioussly tried to tie all loose ends of the plot together after the most important parts were finished and the movie could have easily been called complete. Those last 30 minutes become somewhat tedious. However, the overall effect of the film was not tarnished, and will undoubtedly make box office records.