One of the greatest Modern Epics of our time.

Rating: 10/10 (4 January 2004)

The Return of the King is the third and last chapter in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, a landmark in epic movie-making for the 21st century. Director/Producer Peter Jackson has, without a doubt, compiled a vast story into a masterful film with great story telling, great action sequences, and astounding special effects. The Return of the King offers a greater appreciation of all three films as a whole, and it is truly a masterpiece. Peter Jackson deserves an Oscar for his remarkable achievements.

What sets The Return of the King apart from its predecessors is its attention to battles of great spectacle while emphasizing on character development and finally concentrating more on the hobbits, contrary to the second film which strayed from that story line. While there exists this epic struggle between the forces of good and evil, The Return of the King doesn't stray from friendship, hope, betrayal, union, and other major themes evident in the first film.
The special effects are truly amazing in The Return of the King, not only in fabricating huge battle sequences, and beautiful environments, which draw in the viewer, almost making it seem that you are in the depth of the action, but also in creating Shelob, and immense spider and of course, the remarkable cgi animation used to create Gollum, seeming almost indifferent from any other `real' character.
My only complaint about this movie was the multiple fake endings, and the dragged closure of the film. But, none the less, what an incredible closure it was! The Return of the King preserves the original captivating experience of the first film with style, imagination, and storytelling while surpassing the epic proportions of the second film, making it definitely the best film of the three. Writing the script and directing the movie as a whole, instead of in parts with such stroke of genius has made the Lord of the Rings one of the greatest epic masterpieces of our time.