The most rewarding movie experience ever.

Rating: 10/10 (23 December 2003)

The credits were rolling. The epic orchestral arrangement blasted through the theatre. And I found myself wanting to read every name that was involved in making this masterpiece of a movie.
I read Tolkien's books when I was in sixth grade, nearly ten years ago, when my teacher assigned us to read THE HOBBIT. From that point on, I was hooked. No other fantasy story has ever lived up to the scope of Tolkien's vision, and I found all other fantasy wannabes paled in comparison. When I learned that this fantastic story was being made into a trilogy, I was apprehensive at first, then excited. I was curious to see how it would be brought to the big screen, how this story would finally be brought to the masses.
I will skip praising the greatness of the first two films. That goes without word. But the Great thing about The Return of the King is that it makes the first two films even better. Peter Jackson's vision of an epic story is finally in its full form, and when viewed in its entireity, this has unarguably become the greatest trilogy ever filmed. Name me one trilogy where the final film was the best one of the bunch....
There will be those out there that are p***ed because certain parts of the book have been cut out. That is to be expected though. How many people are willing to sit in a crowded theatre for 4+ hours? Not many, Myself included. I will happily wait for the extended version on DVD, that I can watch comfortably in my own home.
The Return of the King seems to be the most emotional movie ever. Elation, sorrow, joy, terror, amazement, awe, sadness, confusion, and dumfounded all come to mind. The acting was absolutely incredible, these guys act like they were born to play these characters, and if sean astin does not win an award, there is a vast conspiracy in the movie agency. He made me feel so much for Sam and Frodo. The directing was groundbreaking. Where else can you find a movie where when most of the audience knows exactly how it ends, and yet is still able to build nail-biting suspense? And that ties into the action/special effects. I am notoriously not in favor of large amounts of special effects, but peter Jackson manages to keep the action grandiose, and still at a personal level with the main characters. I am still in awe of how he was able to seamlessly blend in the close ups with the vast battle field sequences.
Now, was this movie perfect? By no means. I could sit here and nitpick it to death. But the infinite small details do not matter, because after all, it is the feeling the film gives you inside that matters most
10/10