"Return of the King" is a bittersweet conclusion to the greatest trilogy ever put to film.

Rating: 10/10 (27 March 2005)

I was one of the people who waited to reserve judgment on these movies until I had seen them all. I was inclined to rave about them as each one came out but with major disappointments like the the Star Wars prequels and Matrix sequels, I realized that you couldn't just take one installments quality for granted. Well suffice it to say that now that I have seen all three the sit on the number two spot on my top ten only beat by "The Shawshank Redemption".
Peter Jackson deserves a thunderclap of applause for pulling these movies off so effortlessly. It's hard to imagine a time when I was actually skeptical on whether or not these films would be good. It seemed like a project doomed to failure from the start, especially when you look at Jackson's past resume. Making your name in cheap splatter films doesn't exact sell a person on you ability to handle one of the most epic undertakings in Hollywood history. I was utterly shocked when against all odds he pulled it off.
Of course you can't give Pete all the praise. He was added immensely by a extremely talented cast. They all delivered memorable performances and made the most out of a story that doesn't really have much for character development. When I walked away from these movies I felt like I knew all of these characters well and was extremely sad to see their story end. That is this trilogy's greatest accomplishment. It rejuvenated my faith that Hollywood could pull off a great movie such as this and no matter how crappy everything else was throughout the year we always had the new Rings film to look forward to.
I'm sad I can't feel that way anymore. 2005 has many films coming out with great potential but I have a hard time getting my hopes up as I have been let down so many times before. "Rings" eliminate those fears as I always had that one ray of sunshine waiting for me at the end of each year. These movies made me feel like a kid again as I gazed in awe at the cinema screen like I hadn't done since I first saw dinosaurs walk the Earth in "Jurrasic Park".
I will cherish these movies for years to come and I look forward to being able to introduce my children to them when they get old enough. I only hope they can appreciate them as I do. Cheers!