Epic! - except for the last 15 minutes

Rating: 9/10 (18 January 2004)

Simply put  EPIC!
A near perfect cinematic adaptation of the last book of the trilogy that was relatively respectful of the source material, as were the two earlier episodes. Peter Jackson and all the creators deserve a lifetime commendation for what they have accomplished with these three films.

The only flaw with The Return of The King' is the excruciatingly drawn out ending, most notably the tearful goodbye scene at the Elfin boat dock which could have easily been cut in length by two-thirds (around 8 minutes). After three hours of ultra-entertaining nearly non-stop action, everyone in the theatre was squirming in the seats saying, `Come on now, let's get on with it already!' Similar to the ending for Excalibur' (where a knight makes an totally unnecessary 2nd trip to the lake to retrieve the sword), the creators seem to have fallen so in love with the story that they had a tough time letting go. But this is the only flaw in a near-perfect film, so it still deserves a massive 9 out of 10 in my books.