A worthy conclusion

Rating: 9/10 (18 December 2003)

While Fellowship of the Ring remains the best FILM of the trilogy, there's very little to complain about with the final installment. While Fellowship used innovative camera angles and fully-realized environments and sets, King tends toward the static camera, except in effects shots which exist mostly in the digital realm. However, my only real complaint is that it feels a tad rushed toward the end, and for a 3 hour 15 minute film, that's really saying something. I'm looking forward to the inevitable Extended Edition, which is sure to include more character-development and depth that may have been set aside to bring the conclusion of the plot under the wire.
Some random thoughts:
Though neatly avoided plot-wise, Saruman's final scene is sorely missed.
Bilbo's makeup at the end of the film is horrible and baffling. What was wrong with the "old Bilbo" in Fellowship of the Ring? He looks more like Benjamin Franklin in this movie than Ian Holm. In an entire trilogy of excellent makeup and real-looking monsters, bad "old" makeup is almost fatal.
Sean Astin deserves an Oscar. Peter Jackson deserves an Oscar.
Fellowship of the Ring deserved an Oscar. If Return of the King wins an Oscar to make up for the old snub, well and good.