Please ignore the misinformed who criticize and see this movie!

Rating: Null/10 (23 December 2003)

This is one of the best movies you will ever see....hands down. I am not going to say it is better than The Godfather, Citizen Kane, or Gone With The Wind because those are all different "kinds" of movies shot at different moments in film-making history. But as far as recent memory serves me, I cannot think of one more powerful than Return Of The King- especially considering how strong "Fellowship" and "Two Towers" were in setting the table for the grand finale. The story is powerful (to those of you who still can't figure it out, please email me, I'll be glad to explain it to you) and the acting is top-notch. I mean how many times do you see this many Shakespearean-trained actors in a fantasy movie? Amazing!
I have really gotten a chuckle out of listening to the critics of this movie. Here is the biggest misguided complaint about the movie followed by my rebuttal:
Perhaps the biggest thing people complain about is the multiple endings. There are in fact three times where the screen fades but of course the critics like to blow it out of proportion and say "8 endings" or "12 endings". **SPOILER** Frodo and Sam leave the volcano and are surrounded by lava (fade) Lights come up and the Eagles rescue them (fade) Frodo wakes and is greeted by his friends and then the crowning of Aragorn is shown followed by a fade-away shot and a return to the Shire. There we see the hobbits in a pub and Sam approach Rosie and then there's a wedding shot. From there Frodo talks about his wounds never fully healing and brings Sam, Merry, and Pippin with he, Gandalf, and Bilbo to the Gray Havens. Frodo leaves with Gandalf and Bilbo and has an emotional goodbye with the others (fade) next you see Sam coming home to Rosie and two children and delivers the words that actually end Tolkien's masterpiece- "Well, I'm back." The end! By my count, that's only 3-4 endings. In all, it takes about 15-20 minutes, but the way the critics make it sound, it seems like an hour or more. I think after all this build up the audience deserves this type of ending. I mean, would Shawshank Redemption be as fulfilling without the 25 extra minutes at the end with Red being released and finding Andy? Absolutely not. Also, there were at least 30 more minutes of film in Titanic after the ship sunk!
Please ignore the nay-sayers and misinformed individuals who are jealous of this movie. They reside in one of two camps...those who have no heart for a beautiful story and those who are ardent Matrix or "new" Star Wars fans who are still agonizing over the fact that those sequels have stunk so bad! If you listen to them you will be cheating yourself out of the cinematic experience of your life.