The BEST movie of the series

Rating: 10/10 (29 December 2003)

Watching this great movie for the second time, I remember some of the best times I had as a moviegoer especially as a kid. I remember watching the original Star Wars series with a SERIOUS amount of amazement. Raiders of the Lost Arc gave me a great sense of adventure. And, the first Jaws scared the hell out of me. All these movies (and others like them) PROVIDED something for me to remember. In addition, they were just plain FUN movies. Not pretentious, overwrought or just plain dumb.
Most of today's movies are just plain nonsense. They have no heart like they used to. They are all made for the sole purpose of making a buck.
Although I am sure that New Line Cinema would love to make billions on this series, and Peter Jackson and his people are being paid well for their efforts, that does not prevent these movies from being great works of art and just plain fun.
I remember reading these books as a kid, and I have always loved them and wanted somebody to do a proper adaptation of them. Now that the final book has been brought to the big screen we can see the entire series from a new perspective and I for one admire it more than I ever have. It would have been easy for Jackson and co. after the success of Fellowship to just give people a shortened version of the last two books with teasers here and there but no substance. But, he has not done this. Return of the King is the best example of this.
In this movie, Jackson has made a movie that works very well with the books and finds the most essential parts of it to make a movie that works on just about every level. From the scenery in New Zealand to the look of the battles (I felt as if I WAS there) to the incomparable computer effects of Gollum and the equally amazing effects of Shelob, ever part was filmed with a care to the details that the books deserved. The dialog in this movie is also much better than in Two Towers. I loved this movie from the first scene of how Smeagol finds the ring of power to the last frame of Sam closing his door in the Shire.
Back to what I was saying at the top. Very few movies today give me a sense of wonder that I had as a kid. This series certainly does this. From the beginning to the end, the movies are a stunning achievement and worthy of any awards it receives.