An outstanding ending to one of the greatest epic stories of our time

Rating: 10/10 (29 March 2004)

Epic is just one way to describe the closing chapter in "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy. Larger then life heroics, codes of honor among friends and grand scale battles have all shared screen time equally throughout the series, and the final vignette brings the story to an end marvelously.
"The Return of the King" opens darkly, with the Ring fellowship still split up and facing seemingly insurmountable odds. Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood) and Sam Gamgee (Sean Astin) are still being led through the wasteland of Mordor by the treacherous Gollum (voice of Andy Serkis). Gollum seeks to stop the two Hobbits from destroying the Ring in the fires of Mt. Doom, and tries to drive a wedge between the two before betraying Frodo to his doom.
Meanwhile, reserved elf archer Legolas (Orlando Bloom), cocky dwarf brawler Gimli (John Rhys-Davies) and future human king Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen) have barely had time to recover from the Battle of Helms Deep before learning of another enemy offensive targeting the human city of Minas Tirith in Gondor.
The wizard Gandalf (Ian McKellen) seeks to bring a truce between the warring human factions in Gondor and Rohan to unite the armies for a massive counterattack, while the evil demon Sauron plots to overrun his enemies with his army of Orcs and Uruk-hai and regain his Ring of Power from Frodo so that he may rule all of Middle Earth.
Okay, those last three paragraphs may seem really confusing if you haven't seen the first two movies, but at this point if you're not familiar with the trilogy then you must have been living under a rock for the last three years.
"The Return of the King" finishes the series admirably, bringing a powerful ending to one of the greatest motion pictures series. Where "The Matrix" trilogy started strong but slowly regressed into an overblown mess, "The Lord of the Rings" began on top and only went up from there.
Director Peter Jackson's realization of J.R.R. Tolkien's classic fantasy story is wonderful. The movies succeed because of the mix of cutting edge special effects, powerful performances and most of all, a respect for the source material. Jackson has already earned his place in cinematic history with the ultra-gory zombie flick "Dead Alive," but these films will make him one of the immortals.
Wood manages to move Frodo further along on his quest with control over his character well beyond his years. Frodo, the ring bearer, literally carries the weight of the world with him as the forces of darkness seek to destroy him and his friends. The emotional power is carried by Wood admirably.
McKellen is perhaps filmdom's best wizard, with Gandalf perpetually in conflict with his surroundings and even his acquaintances. It is to the movie's credit that Gandalf is no longer merely a detached figurehead but a full-blown warrior this time around, and McKellen is such a master of his craft here that it's hard to believe that the white wizard is a fictional character.
The rest of the cast is awesome as well. Bloom and Rhys-Davies have successfully moved Legolas and Gimli from rivals that barely tolerated each other's presence to friends who facetiously compete in battle over who can kill the most Orcs. Mortensen brings a quiet fury to his role, balancing a star-crossed love with elf princess Arwen (Liv Tyler) and his duty to reunite the many human clans under one king.
This whole enterprise might have collapsed under its own weight had it been done in a campy or half-hearted way, but "The Return of the King" ends the series brilliantly. The siege of Minas Tirith is one of the most impressive battle sequences ever committed to celluloid, even making the last film's Battle of Helms Deep seem tame by comparison. The action scenes here are underscored with flawless emotional energy, as the heroes fight valiantly against the depraved, overwhelming forces of evil.
Whether against the monstrous spider Shelob, the heartless Nazgul king Gothmog, the tragically flawed Gollum, or the armies of the evil Sauron himself, the heroes battle with vigor and determination. Every arrow fired or slash of a sword is felt with force and importance almost unparalleled on the big screen.
In a way, I'm sad to see the series end. Moviegoers have gotten to know the heroes and villains well, and it almost seems wrong to end the travels of the fellowship. But the story ends respectfully with all loose ends handled commendably, which is more than any other movie series has done since the original "Star Wars" trilogy.
The epilogue last perhaps five minutes longer then it needs to, but that is a personal complaint, and one with which Tolkien fans will have no problem. Cinematic history was created with this series, and "The Return of the King" will rightly go down as one of the greatest endings to one of the greatest stories ever brought to the screen.
10 out of 10 stars. Even a few false endings can not dull this unequaled masterpiece.