The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

*The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers*<***The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King***>*The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey*

***The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King*** is a 2003 high fantasy adventure film and the third and last part of the *Lord of the Rings* series.

## Plot

The hobbit, Sméagol, is fishing with his cousin Déagol, who discovers the One Ring in the river. Sméagol's mind is ensnared by the Ring, and he kills his cousin for it. Increasingly corrupted physically and mentally, he retreats into the Misty Mountains and becomes known as Gollum.

Centuries later, during the War of the Ring, Gandalf leads Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, and King Théoden of Rohan to Isengard, where they reunite with Merry and Pippin. Gandalf retrieves Saruman's *palantír*, and the group returns to Edoras to celebrate their victory at Helm's Deep.As depicted in *The Two Towers* Template:Efn Pippin looks into the palantír, seeing Sauron and a burning tree. Gandalf deduces that the enemy plans to attack Gondor's capital Minas Tirith; he rides there to warn Gondor's corrupt steward Denethor. Pippin, who accompanies him, swears fealty to Denethor, whose now-dead heir Boromir had saved his life;Template:Efn on Gandalf's instruction, Pippin triggers the lighting of the beacons, which call for help from Rohan.

Frodo, who carries the Ring, and Sam continue their journey towards Mordor, unaware that Gollum, now their guide, plans to betray them and take the Ring for himself. The trio witnessed the Witch-king of Angmar, lord of the nine Nazgûl, setting off towards Gondor with his army of Orcs. Gollum conspires to frame Sam for eating food supplies and desiring the Ring; influenced by the growing power of the Ring, Frodo is taken in by the deception, and orders Sam to go home. Gollum then tricks Frodo into venturing into the lair of the giant spider Shelob. Frodo narrowly escapes and confronts Gollum, who falls down a chasm after a scuffle. Shelob discovers, paralyses, and binds Frodo, but is wounded and driven away by a returning Sam, who, mourning Frodo's apparent death, takes the Ring. Sam realises his mistake when a group of Orcs takes Frodo captive but manages to rescue Frodo as the Orcs fight among themselves. Now inside Mordor, the hobbits continue towards Mount Doom, their destination.

As King Théoden gathers his army, Elrond tells Aragorn that Arwen is dying, having refused to leave Middle-earth. Elrond gives Aragorn Andúril, reforged from the shards of King Elendil's sword Narsil, and urges him to commit to claiming Gondor's throne, to which he is the heir. Joined by Legolas and Gimli, Aragorn travels the Paths of the Dead, and pledges to release the ghosts there from their curse should they come to Gondor's aid. Meanwhile, Faramir, who was earlier overwhelmed and driven back to Minas Tirith by the Witch-king, is gravely wounded in a suicide charge; believing his son to be dead, Denethor falls into madness. Gandalf marshals the defenders, but the huge Orc army breaks into the city. Denethor attempts to burn himself and Faramir on a pyre, but Pippin alerts Gandalf and they rescue Faramir. Denethor, set ablaze and in agony, jumps to his death.

Théoden arrives and leads his army against the Orcs. Despite initial success against Orcs in the ensuing battle, they are decimated by the Oliphaunt-riding Haradrim and the Witch-king mortally wounds Théoden; however, his niece Éowyn slays the Witch-king with Merry's help. Théoden dies in his niece's arms. Aragorn then arrives with his Army of the Dead, who overcome Sauron's forces. Their oath is fulfilled, and the Dead are released from their curse. Aragorn decides to march on Mordor to distract Sauron from Frodo, now extremely weak, and Sam; all of Sauron's remaining forces march to meet Aragorn's diversion, allowing the hobbits to reach Mount Doom. Gollum, who survived his earlier fall, attacks them, but Frodo still manages to enter the mountain. There, he succumbs to the Ring's power, putting it on his finger, but Gollum manages to bite off his finger and reclaim it. They struggle together and stumble off the ledge. Frodo clings to it with one hand as remorse and guilt flood his mind in the wake of his succumbing to the ring when Sam's unwavering faith in his friend demands Frodo reach for Sam's stretched hand, saving Frodo's life. Gollum falls and dies; the Ring, which fell with him, disintegrates in the lava, causing Barad-dûr to crumble as The Eye of Sauron explodes, destroying the dark lord once and for all. Aragorn's army emerges victorious as its enemies and the lands of Mordor collapse into the earth, and Mount Doom erupts, with Frodo and Sam narrowly escaping the lava.

Gandalf rescues the hobbits with the help of eagles, and the surviving Fellowship is happily reunited in Minas Tirith. Aragorn is crowned King of Gondor and marries Arwen. The Hobbits return home to the Shire, where Sam marries Rosie Cotton. Four years later, Frodo, whose wound inflicted by the Witch-king refuses to heal and suffering from trauma, departs Middle-earth for the Undying Lands with his uncle Bilbo, Gandalf, and the Elves. He leaves Sam the Red Book of Westmarch, which details their adventures. Sam returns to the Shire, where he embraces Rosie and their children.

## Cast

* Noel Appleby as Everard Proudfoot
* Alexandra Astin as Eleanor Gamgee
* Sean Astin as Sam Gamgee
* Sean Bean as Boromir
* John Bach as Madril
* Cate Blanchett as Galadriel
* Orlando Bloom as Legolas Greenleaf
* Billy Boyd as Pippin Took
* Sadwyn Brophy as Eldarion
* Alistair Browning as Damrod
* Marton Csokas as Celeborn
* Brad Dourif as Grima Wormtongue
* Bernard Hill as Theoden
* Bruce Hopkins as Gamling
* Ian Hughes as Irolas
* Christopher Lee as Saruman
* Lawrence Makoare as Wtich-king of Angmar/Gothmog
* Ian McKellen as Gandalf
* Bret McKenzie as Elf Resort
* Sarah McLeod as Rosie Cotton
* Dominic Monaghan as Merry Brandybuck
* Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn
* John Noble as Denethor II
* Paul Norell as King of the Dead
* Miranda Otto as Eowyn
* Craig Parker as Guritz
* Bruce Phillips as Grimbold
* John Rhys-Davies as Gimli
* Thomas Robins as Deagol
* Andy Serkis as Gollum
* Harry Sinclair as Isildur
* Bruce Spence as Mount of Sauron
* Joel Tobeck as Guritz
* Liv Tyler as Arwen
* Karl Urban as Eomer
* Stephen Ure as Gorbag
* Hugo Weaving as Elrond
* David Wenham as Faramir
* Elijah Wood as Frodo Baggins