Absolutely Awesome!

Rating: 10/10 (2 May 2016)

It's difficult to process something like The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King: Its very nature defies comparison.
There has never been a cinematic endeavour based on a more daunting...or more beloved...literary work. There have never been motion pictures of the magnitude undertaken by co-writer/director Peter Jackson and his production team. The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy will endure forever as one of the most bold and audacious enterprises in the history of cinema. It is, quite simply, a seminal event. Other projects (for example, a movie filmed in space) are already being considered and may someday be attempted. They may challenge LOTR's logistical complexities (or, at the very least, present a comparable set of obstacles), but it is unlikely the numbers of people involved or the sheer duration of the creative process will ever equal this effort.
Jackson & Company have made believers out of millions of readers who doubted the works would ever enjoy respectable translation into a more "mainstream" media. They have changed the way production models are approached for large-scale projects. They have forged what may well be the premiere visual effects house in the business (WETA Digital). They have raised the bar for all filmmakers to follow, and reminded millions of jaded moviegoers of one simple truth: Love, attention, and genuine dedication to (and appreciation of) one's material can overcome inconceivable obstacles, and always...always shows on-screen.
And now it's over.
With the longest running time of any film in the cycle (early indications suggest next year's extended DVD cut will clock in at over 4 hours long), RotK is an all-out assault on the senses. There are times when it is simply impossible to take it all in: Armies of hundreds of thousands clash beneath towering war beasts as deadly, dragon-like bird-things strafe hapless victims on the ground. Mountainsides erupt with pyroclastic fury as lava flows labour to engulf our heroes. This film is off the hook, gloriously so.
In tone and "feel", RotK rests comfortably between Fellowship of the Ring's penchant for character-centric drama, and The Two Towers' colder, more mechanical "war movie" approach. What we end up with, is, in essence, an emotionally charged war movie sprawling in scale yet intimate in heart, its effects are frequently overpowering.