Satisfying Conclusion!

Rating: 9/10 (18 December 2003)

If you've read my review of the FOTR, you'll probably remember that I don't praise the film as much as everyone else, however gave it 8 out of 10. The Two Towers was, in my opinion, much better.
Last night i saw Return of the King. I really enjoyed it! I now find it hard to rate the films individually, as they need to be watched together as one big film to be truly appreciated. ROTK had some amazing battle sequences, and the part with the spider really had me on the edge of my seat! There were many things I enjoyed in the film, much more than in FOTR, and still more than TT. There didn't seem to be a 'boring' moment in the film, and it was entertaining throughout.
However, its not perfect, there were a few things i didn't really like about the film, such as whenever there was a battle or something bad happening it was really dark, and when the 'good guys' stepped onto the scene the sun rose from behind them, and the sun behind the eagles at the end felt a bit OTT. I also felt that the film could have ended a few times. There were actually twice where it faded out, and i thought 'that was a hell of an ending!', and people in the cinema were getting ready to leave, satisfied, then it faded back in for another 10 minutes! I haven't read the books, and appreciate that this sticks to the story of the book completely, in which case i cannot criticize the film for doing this, as it is what it set out to do!
Overall, a damn good film despite some VERY minor flaws! 9 out of 10 (overall, treating the trilogy as one film - 10 out of 10!)