A Masterpiece!

Rating: 10/10 (23 December 2003)

This movie brought together everything the first two laid out, tied them into nice, neat little bundles, and concluded the whole trilogy just as it should. It does not conclude as you wish it to, but rather as Tolkien intended.
The battle scenes were simply awesome this time around. With Helm's Deep, we were amazed, but Pelennor fields and Minas Tirith will leave you absolutely stunned; truly in awe of the mastery involved.
"Mastery." That is a good word, and very aptly describes this production; Masterful. The sets and props were again pure perfection.
The performances were of the very best, most deliberate and heart-wrenching, uplifting realistic performances on film to date. The changes made in the story were small changes and not even note-worthy; the direction staff did a marvelous job rewriting this beloved classic with all the creativity, care and love they had to offer.
LotR is now my favorite movie series to date. Star Wars held that position in my heart since its release, followed by the subsequent two installments, but this, the "Return of the King," is the most imaginatively creative work I have ever had the pleasure of witnessing.
I simply cannot wait to own the third Extended Edition Gift Set featuring this masterpiece.
I will not give away the details, as many here have (and without SPOILER warnings, I might add). I will leave that for someone else.
EDIT: This was literally the very best movie I've ever seen! I cannot recommend the 4-disk Extended Collector's Edition Gift Set ENOUGH! Wow! There is SO much more movie here than there was in the theatrical version!
As did the first two installments, this movie rates a full 10/10 from the Fiend. Would that I could, it would receive 5 extra bonus points for pure creativity.
the Fiend :.