The tale is full in its telling. A finale worthy of praise.

Rating: 9/10 (21 December 2003)

Long has the road been, and long have we traveled it. The circle of the saga is complete, the ring of Doom is destroyed and Middle-Earth is saved from the vile clutches of the Dark Lord.
It has not been an easy trek, to be sure; we've seen some very majestic scenery; we've heard the words spoken that before were only intoned in our minds. Through it all, we stood our ground with Aragorn, Boromir, Gandalf, Gimli, Legolas, Sam, Pippin, Merry, and Frodo. Truly we are also a part of the Fellowship.
Having seen now the long awaited conclusion to this epic trilogy, I left the theatre somehow wanting more. The ships sailed from the Grey Havens, the last of the Elves have taken their places in the Undying Lands, the age of Men has come  yet I so still wanted to see more.
I wanted as well to see the battle of Eowyn and the Witch-King played out as it was written; I wanted to see Shelob in all her majesty. I was hoping that the final installment-that we have waited so very long to see-would be more true to the tale in those important places (well, they were important to me, at least.)
At least I am proud to say that I saw King Aragorn kneel before the Hobbits in tribute. At least the Many Partings were relatively well displayed. And to hear Gandalf laugh! This is what I imagined. Indeed, it was like spring after a long winter; like water to a parched land.
Pity, there was no Scouring of the Shire. No Saruman. No finale to the final film. For that I am sad.
How I wished to utter perfection. Only to leave wanting
Still, I will not weep over the ending, nor the telling of the tale. A marvelous ride it has been. So that leaves me with the paramount question: how good is it?
It's good. Better than most films; but it's not as good as I had hoped it would be. Thus it cannot obtain a `10' rating. But is it on par with the other two? If you recall, I gave both The Fellowship and The Two Towers a `9' ratinghigh praise, indeed.
The Return of the King feels like a hollow victory, in a sense, because I know that next year there is no sequel to tide me. Quite lamentable. I can only hope that Peter Jackson will acquire the rights to The Hobbit after his version of King Kong is finished. But I digress..
Surely, this is a good film, the main points of the novel are covered and the quest is brought to the ending as it should. In the end, I think, the finale is just as good as the others in the trilogy, and it is only my own sadness that we shall not see another next year that makes me hesitant.
In my heart of hearts I know this tale is completed, full, and as near a vision to Tolkien's masterwork that could possibly be hoped. And it is with that feeling I shall follow. If you are a fan, or just a story completeist, then you must see this. This is the culmination of your desires and hopes. It's solid, and I give this a `9' out of `10' making this series well worth owning, well worth seeing, and well worth the price.
I will be seeing this again. I bet you will, too.