A magnificent epic that can be enjoyed by all ages.

Rating: 10/10 (30 January 2004)

I find it difficult to separate the three films even though each one is a wondrous tale of its own. The following are the main points of The Return of the King that are my favorites and if you haven't yet seen it or read the book (which you should-on both counts)please do not read any further because these details may spoil the film for you. 1. Viggo Mortensen is spectacular as Strider/Aragorn/Elessar. Every country should have a leader as compassionate, brave, loyal,true, and determined as the heir of Isildur proved to be. And every woman should have the man they love look at them the way that King Elessar looked at Arwyn when he saw her lovely face again after the crowning ceremony. BTW the chant in Elvish that Viggo does after he is crowned is enchanting and moving and is on the soundtrack CD. 2.Gandalf kicks some serious butt and is the wisest of consulars and in his talk to Pippen at Minas Tirith when the whole town is on the brink of annihilation he makes death sound like a continuing journey that should not be feared. 3.Legolas is loyal and true to Aragorn and Gimli as well as being the most fearsome of warriors and his taking down of the 'Oliphant' is simply...well awesome! His quiet dignity even on the brink of war is most calming and his wise words to Gimli are heart warming. If only we did have Elves in this world, how cool would that be? 4.Ghost Soldiers: Aragorn demanding that the Ghost Soldiers follow him and thus be freed from their oath is very intense and the GS taking out the bad guys...again awesome! 5.The Hobbits: Frodo, courageous and determined, Elijah Wood gives him a sweet gentleness by the very power of those amazing large blue eyes and charming smile. Samwise: Could anyone ask for a better friend than Sam who rose to the occasion and saved his master from Shelob and the Orcs and carried him on his back to the entrance of the chasm of Mt.Doom.Sean Astin was perfect and should have garnered an Oscar nomination as a supporting actor. Merry and Pippin, perfect foils that lend a comic relief without being buffoons. 6.Gollum: Andy Sirkus is phenomenal as Smeagol/Gollum and no other CGI creation has ever appeared to be such a flesh and blood creature with such emotional depth.He gives us a good lesson in greed and what the love of possessions to the exclusion of all else can do to a person because even as he fell to his death his mind was on 'his precious' and not the fact that he was losing his life. 7.The whole cast under the direction of Mr. Jackson and his 'wizards' is superb and this movie along with the first two will be the Gone With The Wind of our time. I highly urge one and all to see the entire trilogy if they have not done so. Oh, I'm 59, my husband is 62, my Mom is 76, our son is 42, and our grand-daughter is 20. We saw all of the together and we all loved them. It's a movie for that can be enjoyed by one and all and besides the grandeur of movie magic it has some lessons on life,love,greed,and sacrifice that hold true to every day life.