Extended Edition is definitive

Rating: 7/10 (12 February 2005)

Return of the King, Extended Edition, is a decent improvement on the theatrical release, except for a couple of small mis-steps.
The EE improves the flow of the story immensely, succinctly explaining a lot of points that before seemed a little arbitrary. It extends some crucial parts of the movie to greatly improve the sense of time passing, such as Frodo and Sam crossing Mordor. It includes the much-missed conclusion to Saruman and Wormtongue's story - not in the same style as the book, which depended on the unfilmed (and unfilmable) Scouring of the Shire, but in an appropriate way that stays true to the spirit of the book. (In fact this scene is a good example of the very effective way that the writers collapsed multiple book scenes into one movie scene. Kudos.)
The extended cut also gives a lot more personality and interest to some characters; notably Denethor, Steward of Gondor, but others as well. The battles feel more grueling due to subtle extensions here and there.
It's still not quite perfect; I still think the role of the dead army was too much, detracting from the efforts of the living warriors. This was probably not easily correctable in the EE, since it would have meant filming some quite substantial additional battle scenes, and further the writers had clearly made a decision to go away from the book version here. Still, I would like to see that improved somehow.
The Paths of the Dead itself is extended, but most of this is unnecessary and frankly cheap. Looking back now, the theatrical edition is much superior both for suspense and lack of cheese. I would rather have seen the spooky and sad scene with Bregor's (?) skeleton lying at a the sealed door of some unknown chamber. And if I'm getting fussy, a bit more actual darkness would be nice!
There are other niggles, but they decrease in importance and probably only reflect my opinions and personal vision of LotR.
In terms of story balance, the EE of RotK was what should have been originally released to theatres. Unfortunately, this would have been impossible as it is an hour longer, and many casual viewers already found it much too long.
In any case, the final Extended Edition of Return of the King is absolutely stunning. Where I had previously felt the movie strayed a little too far into traditional "Hollywood blockbuster" territory, the EE now feels balanced, complete, and above all moving and true to the spirit of the book. I thank Mr Jackson, New Line Cinema, JRR Tolkien and everyone else who contributed.
For myself, this is the best series of films ever made, and I am quite happy to call Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King a masterpiece, as is the book it was based upon. Film and book snobs be damned, this is an amazing movie.