Fantastic Visuals!!! Great Story! Best...Movie...Ever?

Rating: 10/10 (22 December 2003)

This movie blew me away visually. Return of the King stands alone its 2 predecessors, clearly demonstrating that sometimes you CAN see a movie sequel without seeing its prequels. The plot is so simple, you've probably seen it in a dozen other sci-fi/fantasy epics - notably "Star Wars," which seems to borrow heavily from Tolkien once you've compared the two: A group of ragtag hearty souls from unlikely walks of life band together to defeat a dark enemy in a grave moment for the fate of their kind's existence. Award-Winning acting by Sean Astin as Samwise Gamgee and Sir Ian McKellen won't go unnoticed by the upper crust of Hollywood Judges this awards season.
One of my favorite moments from the film is the scene with the giant elephants attacking Gondor. Legolas (Orlando Bloom) singlehandedly takes down 3 of them in a single swoop - EXACTLY like Luke Skywalker (Mark Hammill) does in "Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back" - aim for the legs!!!
The ending(s) of the movie are a bit much and sappy, and the movie is probably about 20 minutes too long for the traditional moviegoer. True LOTR fans won't care or notice though, and will savor what will likely be a 5 plus hour Extended Edition DVD that will come out next year.