At last, the most important review available.

Rating: Null/10 (19 March 2004)

The latest film in Peter Jackson's extremely successful "Lords of the Ring" series is somewhat reminiscent of the second film "The Two Towers" in that it is really just a slow build-up to a large battle scene.
Whereas its predecessor used tens of thousands of extras in the casting, in "Return", CGI special effects are the order of the day. The most obvious example is the creature "Gollum" - in the previous film the actor, Andy Serkis, wore a rubber suit in order to portray the creature. In this film, the creature is generated electronically.
Here lies the problem: Even with both RAM and ROM, no computer can effectively replace the modern trained actor. The performance clearly suffers for it, especially the ridiculous section at the beginning when we see the transformation of the character "Smeagol" into "Gollum". The computer-generated character of "Smeagol" simply did not look realistic enough to a highly observant eye, such as mine.
I also have problems with the script. As with the previous films, the script seems strangely stilted; almost anachronistic, as if it were written in the 1950s. This is obviously a disingenuous attempt by Jackson to gain some kind of authority into the script. However, I feel the story could be executed with much a faster narrative if the main protagonists behaved and spoke with a more streetwise vernacular, and perhaps spice it up with some well known comic faces like Jim Carrey or Mike Myers. I would urge Peter Jackson, or any other director for that matter, to consult an advanced critic such as myself on their script before making films.
Needless to say, I feel that Jackson has "run out of steam" with this franchise and has little more he can develop the storyline. However, the financial success of these films so far have been so great that I suspect there could possibly an alternative continuation - maybe some kind of "prequel" perhaps. Remember, you heard it here first, from TheMovieExpert, unquestionably the most brilliant and highly respected film critic of our times.
On a purely technical basis, this film was outstanding in many different ways, almost certainly worth 8 or 9 out of 10. However, I also felt that Marcel Carné's "Les Enfants du paradis" was too low in the IMDb's top 250, so I gave "Return of the King" 1 out of 10.