Good film. But top 10? Nah.

Rating: 8/10 (21 December 2004)

I really enjoyed Return of the King - just like the previous two films. They were fantastic epics, with some great battle scenes, some lovely "epic" acting. But I can't help the feeling the hype has wrecked it a little.
In my opinion, it is not the best film ever, nor the third, or the fiftieth. I have seen better epics - ones that didn't need to use CGI (Lawerence Of Arabia). I have seen better battle scenes and action scenes (Braveheart, Last Samurai, Matrix 1). Return of the King is great - just not as good as some people like to believe.
It looks fantastic. The design is second to none, and the epic feeling is captured so well on the battle field. Acting from everyone is fantastic - Mckellen and Viggo being standouts, as well as Sean Astin. And, damn, has this film got some great set pieces (Pelannor fields!).
But what wrecked this film? The editing. I know some purists loved the ending - but it ended about (checks his notebook) four times. It faded to black - BUT WAIT - it's starting again! Really, Jackson could've cut this down. It made the film over-wrougt to the point of screaming.
All in all, a great film, one of the best ever - just not top 10 worthy! It has great production value, Jackson is talented for doing all three in a row - and everyone involved should be proud they've been in such a film. Though, the editing crew must feel a little sheepish...