If all's well that ends well, then ***

Rating: Null/10 (4 January 2004)

I was disappointed in the Return of the King, because it returned me to the same problem I experienced in The Fellowship of the Ring. "When is this film supposed to end?" I asked myself that in the first and third volumes, but NOT in the second film which is now in my mind the best of the trilogy. Although the central battle here is incredible, and the effects stupendous, there is still something bloated about it in the end. Too many characters, plot lines, and endings. If the film had ended at the coronation in Gondor, I would have called it wonderful. As it was, people were sighing in their seats. It felt the same in the first film with the multiple wide angle shots and soaring score that then went back in for close ups and further action. A fan of the books said, "You can't expect them to wrap up this great quest so quickly." My reply is, "Why not?" Hitchcock told incredible stories, but he made sure to have quick and powerful endings. Jackson's weak in that spot. Somehow, The Two Towers managed to avoid this temptation and told its stories in greater simplicity.

I stopped being a fan of fantasy novels a while back, and I do wish that this film had given me back that love. As it is, I was more fascinated by the heartstopping battles in The Last Samurai than what The Return of the King offered us. TOP TEN FILMS OF THE YEAR: 1.Kill Bill Volume 1 2.Dirty Pretty Things. 3.The Last Samurai 4.American Splendor 5.Finding Nemo 6.Seabiscuit 7.The Magdalene Sisters 8.Identity 9.Lost in Translation 10.Big Fish