We waited two years for this?

Rating: Null/10 (25 December 2003)

The Return of the King was the last...and least of the trilogy. Despite not being a science fiction/fantasy buff, I liked the first two movies, but did not like this one. I bought my wife, who IS a science fiction/fantasy buff, the first two movies and she told me as we left the theater not to buy her the third.
There was too much reliance on special effects, and too much reliance on luck. Can anyone tell me that it was possible for Frodo or any of the other "good guys" to survive all of the dangers they faced? Gollum was pretty indestructable himself. The ring had supernatural powers but from what I could tell these characters did not.
The movie ran for about 30-45 minutes after it had reached its natural conclusion, during which time I was squirming in my seat anxious for it to end.
I don't know why, with each of the three movies released one year apart, a brief recap of the last one was not provided.
An overkill ending to a good series. In fairness to the makers of this movie, the over-reliance on special effects is common in the motion picture industry today.