Desperately in need of an editor - the third and final installment has its moments - decidedly!

Rating: 7/10 (30 August 2005)

In scale, ambition and extensive use of the latest CGI director, Peter Jackson's "The Return of the King" effectively brings to a close his awe-inspiring adaptation of J.R. Tolkien's legendary "The Lord of the Rings." Tying up the loose ends: Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen), Legolas (Orlando Bloom), Gimli (John Rhys-Davies) and Gandalf (Ian McKellen) prepare for their massive battle at Minas Tirith; Frodo's (Elijah Wood) mission to Mordor grows more dark and sinister as he nears the molten lava of Mount Doom; Samwise Gamgee (Sean Astin) confronts Gollum  certainly one of the most compelling bits of subtly nuanced computer animation ever.
There are a couple of curiosities, including the inexplicable absence of Saruman (Christopher Lee) who appears in the extended version DVD but not in the theatrical cut, and the reduction of several roles that were previously rather weighty, now cut to mere cameo status. Jackson had a lot of ground to cover in this final installment and his editorial acumen was working overtime. The film is slick and polished, masterfully told and faithful to Tolkien's vision. Still, "The Return of the King" does tend to suffer from too many endings in its attempt to be loyally inclusive to all of the characters.
THE TRANSFER: Stunning. No less was to be expected and no less is offered in this beautifully rendered picture. Truly, there is nothing to complain about in this anamorphically enhanced presentation. Colors are stylized, bold, rich and vibrant. Contrast and shadow delineation is nicely rendered. Blacks are deep, rich and solid with an incredible amount of fine detail present, even during the darkest scenes and battle sequences. The audio is 5.1 and extremely powerful. The rich musical score sweeps across all audio channels with an enveloping presence. Dialogue is very dimensional.
EXTRAS: As with the previous two films, this one comes with a host of extra features, including three substantial documentaries (the National Geographic one being the best) and six extremely short "featurettes" which play more like extended trailers for the film.
BOTTOM LINE: Is this the BEST PICTURE of last year? Arguably, yes. It certainly is a fitting conclusion to the trilogy and an exceptional DVD presentation for your home theater. Add this one to your collection today.