hail to the king

Rating: 10/10 (23 August 2013)

The third and final installment of the Lord of the Rings trilogy comes to life bigger, and bolder than the first two. Director Peter Jackson and company held nothing back when it came to CGI, special effects, gorgeous landscapes, and breathtaking cinematography.
Fans most familiar with Tolkien's famed novels would take note of changes made in the interest of keeping the film short (as with it's two prior films), but he stuck close enough the main story and brought it to its destined conclusion. He didn't water down the scene where Frodo finally gets to Mt. Doom in order to get rid of The One Ring once and for all—in fact it packs quite the punch. The way that scene was intermingled with the battle footage heightened the emotional level of the scene as well as the excitement.
The actors deserve praise as well. Viggo Mortensen reminds us of what a hero truly is, with his performance as Aragorn, the man who would become King of Gondor. Sir Ian McKellen reprises his role as Gandalf the White, bringing the Wizard to life as if he popped right out of the pages of Tolkien's novels. Elijah Wood draws us in with his portrayal as Frodo— Sorrowful, and weary of his travels and all of the trials he'd gone through along the way. Other noteworthy performances include those of Liv Tyler, Cate Blanchet, Miranda Otto, Dominic Monaghan, Billy Boyd, Hugo Weaving, etc.
I highly recommend this film (as well as it's predecessors) to anybody, regardless of whether or not you've read the novels. Of course the books are better—they always are—but the movies are an excellent adaptation of Tolkien's wonderful tale.
This film is clearly worthy of the many Oscars it has won.
I easily give it a 10/10.