After two years of waiting, Tolkien's trilogy ends on screen. (Possible SPOILERS!)

Rating: 10/10 (27 May 2004)

The first two Lord of the Rings were unbelievable. The acting, the plot, the trimming of the story, and special effects were all ground-breaking. Both left you on the edge of your seat as it ended. But ROTK does the opposite: you sit back with a sigh of relief, satisfied that an incredible journey is over.
ROTK is a true epic. The characters mature a lot in the culmination, which makes for a movie better than its prequels. The story fits together seamlessly if all you've seen is the movie, but if it leaves a few stones unturned, so what? I read the book, and the scenes that were left on the cutting-room floor were good, but dispensable. The epilogue is the only flaw, but a very minor one anyway. I would have preferred the finale to end like it had begun: an overview of events by Galadriel. Maybe even the last line of the Appendices, when the reader is informed that with Legolas and Gimli crossing to the Grey Havens at last, the Fellowship of the Ring finally left Middle-earth.
Characterization reaches its peak in ROTK. Aragorn is nothing like the travel-worn, sullen Ranger of the first two films: he has accepted his heritage as the King of Gondor, and shows his true colors as a brave warrior. A tip of the hat to Viggo Mortensen. Frodo's performance is an excellent one by Elijah Wood, but I can't help but feel annoyed with Frodo's character. I believe Sam is the one that should be receiving all the plaudits at the end of the film, not Frodo. Sam is the real hero. Sean Astin was unknown to me before this, and he finally shines in the third film. In ROTK, he is no longer a loyal servant of Frodo's; he is the driving force behind the destruction of the One Ring. Astin conveys his loyalty to Frodo and emotion perfectly, and makes the move from gentle helper to fiercely protective warrior seamlessly. His is the finest performance in the film. Orlando Bloom and Rhys-Davis are wonderful as comic relief ("That still only counts as one!"). Thank God their body count was retained for the film. Did Bloom have a stuntman? Apparently not, as he broke practically every bone in his body during production. Some of the stunts in this make the surfboard stunt from The Two Towers look like crap, astonishing though it was. Has anyone else noticed that the Dwarf Gimli looks A LOT bigger than the rest? Ah, well. Merry and Pippin do better in ROTK, getting their own story "paths" for the first time. Theoden King was a great character. I was sad when he died in battle (to his credit, none but the Witch King of Angmar could beat him). I was forcibly reminded of Mufasa. I cried at that when I was three. Was it Billy Boyd singing to Denethor or was it dubbed? As a comment on the acting in general, I have to say they made the dramatic, epic dialogue from the book seem normal. You might not even notice that real people don't talk that way.
The music in ROTK is the same as the other two: breathtaking. Like so much else, it is on an epic scale, and gives a feeling of grandeur. Nothing could fit better with the shots of sweeping landscapes that show the characters' journeys, rather than the usual high-speed clips of different parts of the journey. This is one of the things I love about the direction in this movie. It's a lot better than the norm to see a view of a place with a huge orchestra playing, as well as the parts where someone enters or leaves in slow motion, with - surprise! - music to illustrate it. I need to see more of this kind of thing.
The epic battle scenes take up a lot of screentime, and that isn't a complaint. Like a lot of the stuff, much of it is in slow motion, letting the music explain all of it. They all begin well, with inspirational speeches before the first charge. I don't see why the battles were attacked for dragging on. Especially since in ROTK you see a lot more: a lot more monsters and people, and the highlight were the oliphaunts. Great special effects, Orlando Bloom strikes again: the stunts are AMAZING.
Special effects. Awesome. Gollum is the most complex CGI character ever, making him all the more difficult to portray. The voice is superb, that spine-chilling hiss. The split personality is extremely important, and it was essential that the film be able to pull it off. The abrupt changes in tone and facial expression must have been hard to do, but they are flawless. It was great to make it seem as if two Gollums were there, a good and a bad. It made me suspicious for a while, thinking that Bad Gollum was a product of the Ring, or there were two Gollums, one that showed up at night. Sean Astin may be the best human actor in the film, but the CGI Gollum might be a little better.
With the addition of another side of Gollum and other miscellaneous beasties of ugly appearance, ROTK is a much more frightening film than its predecessors. The jagged rocks of Mordor and the darkness of the deep places of the earth, would be unpleasant places to be in without the edition of the eery score, which becomes loud, fast and furious when the concealed horror finally emerges. Wow.
In the end, you're content with the year-long wait since The Two Towers. ROTK has done a tremendous job, it didn't seem likely the continuing story of the characters from The Fellowship of the Ring could beat the first installment. Pessimism about ROTK heightened after TTT was so good. But, well, to hell with the cynics, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is the best damned film I have ever seen, so there. Period. You're not beating this.