After all is said and done

Rating: Null/10 (14 April 2004)

Some people overlook flaws if they're too passionate, and other killjoys just want to slag off anything that's remotely popular and which a large number of people can enjoy. Both groups have siezed upon Return Of The King in equal numbers.
Personally I watched the film twice and although the running time didn't stop it flying by, you do get to spot some of the shakier effects even without consciously looking for them, so I'm glad I never made it back a third time, choosing to buy The Two Towers on DVD instead. It doesn't detract from the overall spectacle and the great music throughout. If you are going to buy the UK DVD at the start of May 04, you'll see what you were missing. It's tempting to not buy ROTK until I have a much bigger widescreen TV, and keep my memories of the cinema showings.
The Ensemble cast were well established by 2002 when they started filming, though it's perfectly fair that the film didn't win any individual acting awards- it got enough in the other categories. Howard Shore deserved his Oscar this time, though- Gandalf's Death is the only piece of the score I remember from either of the other two films, but Return of the King achieves that rare 20th century achievement of helping to tell the story with the music and so the score is as good as the film, so its soundtrack wasn't "swept up" and given a freebie as sometimes happens.
Just like I wrote about Matrix Revolutions, ROTK rounds off the series so just catch it. If you didn't watch it at the cinema, your loss and better seats for everyone else. If the great reviews, the five-month cinema run, the big gross and the Oscars haven't convinced you to watch it, nothing will. If you've no axe to grind with making comparisons to the books, then see this modern classic as soon as possible if you haven't already.