a fantastic ending

Rating: 10/10 (17 December 2003)

Saw Return of the king this morning between midnight and three thirty. It's wonderful. The story changes are logical and every element brilliant. The acting bar has been raised and met (especially for Sam who invokes tears on many occasions) and the action phenomenal. Enormous bodycount for man and beast (luckily this is a fantasy or the RSPCA would be up in arms!!) and a continuation of Gimli and Legolas' rivalry. Legolas has an overblown and a bit dodgy (CG wise) super stunt that no matter what gets enormous cheers from the audience for it's sheer coolness! Gollum has his best scenes in this film and they've even made him look more real! (A brief prologue on his transformation is wonderful). The ending for some (meaning just the epilogue) might be a bit long but it is certainly fitting for this 10 hour+ epic. Shelob is disgusting (in a good way) and Jackson is very much pushing the boundaries of his PG13 or 12A rating. To add even more brilliance to this masterpiece, the end credits are beautifully done.