Brilliant, mind-blowing, masterfully crafted - re-defines the word EPIC and should receive multiple Oscars!

Rating: 10/10 (24 December 2003)

I have just returned from experiencing "The Return Of The King" for the second time, and it still is "mind-blowing".
I am in awe of the combined creative talent of Peter Jackson and his crew and their commitment to excellence.
This movie is outstanding on all levels: storytelling, acting, production... you name it.
The third "Rings" movie is a crowning achievement and brings the trilogy to a very satisfying conclusion. (It more than makes up for the disappointment of the Matrix sequels.)
It also outdoes the previous two "Rings" movies on all levels. (And I thought it wasn't possible to top "The Two Towers" when I wrote my comments about that movie a year ago ... I'm sooo glad I was wrong :-)
Just a few examples:
Were you impressed by how Legolas mounted the horse in the fight sequence with the Warg Riders in "Two Towers"? Wait until you see him do his Olyphant stunt in this movie!
Did you perceive the battle at Helm's Deep as an epic battle sequence? (I did!) Compared to the "showdown" at Minas Tirith, Helm's Deep merely feels like a minor skirmish now.
As far as realistic CGI is concerned, I thought that the Gollum CGI of the second movie was something very hard to top. Not only is Gollum even better in this third movie, but wait until you see the absolutely life-like rendering of that nasty giant spider Shelob. Oh, and see if you can spot even the tiniest hint of CGI when Gandalf rides into the white city of Minas Tirith ... I couldn't, and I know for a fact that they used CGI "big time" for those scenes, simply because the cost of creating all that with actual sets would have been prohibitive. (That's CGI at its best: when you can't tell that it's CGI and it just serves the purpose of telling the story.)
I've given all three movies a 10, simply because the ratings system here does not allow for 9.9 ("Fellowship Of The Ring") and 9.99 ("The Two Towers") ratings.
If this movie does not receive "a truckload" of Oscars, it would terminally prove to me that the Academy simply does not acknowledge movies in the fantasy genre on principle.
There have been a few other outstanding movies this year that will make for a tough competition in the acting department ("Mystic River" comes to mind, in particular), but IMO this movie takes the crown in pretty much all the other categories.
Here's my personal Oscar list for "Return Of The King" (in alphabetic order):

Actor in a leading role (Ian McKellen ... or would the supporting actor category be more appropriate? This is really an ensemble cast movie where leading and supporting actors/actresses are hard to sort out, which will probably have the effect of sending the leading role Oscars to other movies.)

Actor in a supporting role (My vote clearly goes to Andy Sirkis for bringing Gollum to life on so many levels, but Sean Astin certainly deserves a nomination, too, for those heart-wrenching scenes when they get "up the stairs" into Mordor, and when he finally carries Frodo up Mount Doom.)

Actress in a supporting role (Miranda Otto)

Art Direction

Best Picture

Cinematography

Costume Design

Directing

Film Editing

Makeup

Music (Score) ( Thanks, Howard, for putting themes into my head that I can't get out, anymore ;-)

Music (Song) (The great Annie Lennox - the voice of the "Eurythmics" 20 years ago - still has that magic touch of passion and precision that very few singers even get close to ...)

Sound (Make sure you see this movie in a theater with an excellent sound system with the volume "cranked up" quite a bit ... and be prepared to cover your ears when the creatures the Nazgul ride begin to scream!)

Sound Editing

Visual Effects (Now, that's a REAL no-brainer!)

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

If my math is correct, that's a total of 14 of those "heavy golden boys".
Now, PJ, how are we gonna top THAT? Give me a call!