Amazing end to the greatest trilogy!!

Rating: 10/10 (18 March 2004)

I thought this version of the Lord of the Rings to be the best of the three. It is above The Two Towers and even eclipses Fellowship Of The Rings. From the beginning to the end it is an emotional ride to the destruction of the one ring. I think this is a film that is going to be remembered for years to come, and in the future people would appreciate it more and place it on the pedestal alongside grand masterpieces such as Ben-Hur and The Godfather. Return of the king shows how an epic should truly be done, in a time when Special effects is highly relied upon. The team manages to not only take advantage of these SFX, but also shows that it doesn't take only effects to move a film, but instead it takes a very good story, one that is capable of holding up to all the effects. Return of the King doesn't disappoint here, the story never lets down and in fact gets better as it goes on.

That being said I two minor problems about the film, first of all the battle of Minas Tirith was in the day light (unlike the night battle of Helms Deep), so this made the weaknesses of the Special Effects to become more apparent, secondly if someone is not a huge fan of the series the ending may lead them to become a bit restless because it goes on for a while. However being a fan, I thought it was great that Jackson did this because, Personally I did not want the movie to end. Peter Jackson deserves many awards for this film, and it is only up to the Academy's biases as to whether or not he will in fact win these awards, but I think Best Picture and Best Director, is deserved.
I was so happy to see the acting of the major characters in this film, every one pulled their stuff together, and Frodo, Sam and Ofcourse Gollum were magical, as they continued towards Mordor. Amazing acting all around and everyone should be commented. The Score should also be commented, Howard Shore put together another amazing score, though it is not as engrossing as FOTR, I found the overall music was very engrossing and suiting to the atmosphere of the film as a whole.
Personally I think this film was the crowning achievement for everyone involved in this movie, amazing all around, and I was happy to see this film rewarded justly. This is far and away the best movie I have seen this year, and yes I have seen most of the other 'Oscar contenders', it is one of the best movies I have ever seen, because the director balances technology with a great storyline and received amazing acting from the cast, this is a lesson to be learned for future film makers in this genre. Special Effects should never be the primary driving force of a movie, even in an age digital this story and acting are integral- - Take that Matrix 2-3 and Star Wars Episode 1-2.
In Conclusion I am very proud to be a fan of this trilogy of movies that shows just how movies and their sequels/other parts should be done. Return of the King perfectly wraps up Tolkien's trilogy, Jackson does it better than anyone else could.
10/10!