The crown jewel of the trilogies!

Rating: 8/10 (19 December 2003)

After a refresh course for the part I and II on DVDs last week, I was prepared for the final installment. I have to say that the first two and half hours are nothing short of magnificent visual feast (surpass the previous two with stunning and breath-taking sequences such as City of Gondor, the Beckon towers, and the Battle of the Pelennor) yet surprisingly with attention to characters. Few of my favorites are Theoden ,King of Rohan (probably the most dramatic transformation in the trilogies and his ending brought tears to my eyes), Eowyn (you go, girl!), and Gollum/Smeagol (it provides most of the suspense for Frodo and Sam's journey and for the movie, and it's disappointing that Peter Jackson didn't give him a chance of redemption at the end when redemption is a repeated theme through out the movie.) I'm glad that I've never read the book and am not boxed in how the story should' be told.
Personally, I felt the movie fell a bit flat at the end. It would be perfect to end the movie at the crowning on a high note (which reflects its title properly  the return of the King) but it drags on into an overly sentimental, anti-climax epilogue.