Rating: 
Summary: Fabulous entertainment & more!
Review: I find it perverse that some viewers have been so negative. The vast majority, however, appear to concur with my opinion, that this is a breathtaking conclusion to a fantastic movie series. There are, obviously, several parts of the written story that have to be rearranged to make the movie work, some parts that have been reduced, some that have been expanded, and some that have been completely eliminated.That said, I think Peter Jackson did a great job in putting together a movie experience that is altogether believable and involving. I was disappointed when the movie ended both times I've watched it. From my point of view, it is a rare movie that is able to assemble such a great cast (each and every one of them is superb), establish realistic locations (for fantasy and sci-fi, that is increasingly rare), and have music that stirs the soul and puts emotion right where it belongs. I'm one of those people who put the "fanatic" in "fan." This will stand as one of the greats of our time and I'm delighted that I was able to be part of this experience. Peter Jackson, kudos to you and your vision of Tolkein! Thanks!
Rating: 
Summary: Return of the King- A Welcomed Return
Review: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is a wonderful final installment to the "Rings" trilogy. It features
great epic battle sequences, nice acting and an great story (which is rare in movies now a days). Director Peter Jackson makes the environment of Middle Earth so real and miraculous along with the dazzling special effects, and Gollum-Smegal (Andy Serkis) is the one in this movie who just about steals the show. Sir Ian Mckellen is excellent as Gandalf (as always) along with the rest of the great dynamic cast.
The journey sadly ends in part 3, as Frodo and Sam along with Gollum are on their quest to destory the ring in the raging
fires of Mount Doom. The dark lord Saruman is rising, and he must be stopped. All in all, the film is grand and truly at epic scale. I am also pleased to announce the Return of the King which received 4 Golden Globe nominations won all 4. It won Best Motion Picture Drama and Best Director (drama). This is a good sign for the oscars, and this film might just take a lot of them home.
Though this film does deserve five stars, I took one off for the ending, this is a 3 hour and 21 minute film and in the last 30 minutes it does get a bit tedious and seems to end several times. All in all Peter Jackson's superb "Lord of the Rings" trilogy are the 3 best fantasy films or our time.
Return of the King is rated PG-13 for Intense Epic Battle Sequences and Frightening Images. This one does feature the most violence, with intense but excellent battle scenes. Nothing exceptionally graphic or unpleasant, and the sequences feature hardly any blood what so ever. This one might scare younger children for the grotesque and horrifying monsters, along with the boisterous noises which they make. A fine pick for the family though and surely one of the best films of 2003.
A huge hit at the box-office already, which of course is no surprise.
Rating:
Summary: The Best Movie Of Our Time
Review: This movie has, by far, blown away any prior thoughts of what a truly great movie is. It is a spectacular resemblence to Tolkien's book, and was played out magnificently. The action is intense and leaves you breathless. If there is one word to describe the feeling you have when you leave the theater it most definitely is wonderment. How anyone can make something this amazing is beyond anything most can imagine. I give this my highest rating, and hope that this movie will live on through the ages as a piece of utter perfection.
Rating:
Summary: WOW!
Review: The Journey Ends It picks up at the end of the Battle of Helms Deep and the beginning of the Battle for Middle Earth. "The board is set, the pieces are moving." (Gandalf) As the story progresses the enemy has now turned its eye on mankind and is concentrating on how to destroy it. Aragorn and his followers are trying to buy time in order for Frodo to sneak into Mordor and destroy the ring. As you watch Frodo you are seeing the complete down fall of him. He has no hope left and his friendship with Sam is starting to fade, but Sam is set in his ways and he will not give up on the journey...or on Frodo. Also Aragorn is trying to figure out what his heart is telling him about being King of Gondor. This is a heart warming motion picture that is sure not to leave a dry eye. It is better than the first two combined! I LOVE IT!!!!!!!! "There is some good in this world Mr. Frodo...and it's worth fighting for." (Sam)
Rating:
Summary: ...Amazing
Review: WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2003--An incredible, epic closing to what has to be the most enthralling film trilogy ever made. Without a second thought, I would name this Best Picture of the Year, and I'm severely hoping the Academy agrees with me on this. I can think of no other fantasy film in recent memory that has held me so captive to its magnificence. I could go on about the greatness of the actors, the direction and the special effects, but then my voice would just get lost in the already overwhelming roars of praise. "Return of the King" is a stunning masterpiece, and a grand spectacle that you should definitely catch on the big screen, before it packs its many bags of deleted scenes and heads to the DVD retirement home.
Rating:
Summary: Missed it by that much
Review: I really LOVED the Fellowship movies...all of them. I am hesitant however to give 5 stars to "Return..." only because there was really so much left out that was important to the story. Yeah, yeah, I know it would have extended the running time to a bajillion hours, but we needed to see what developed between Faramir and Eowyn, and how Eowyn really was such a heroine in the story, (much more so than what one was lead to believe) and (oh, my gosh!) the Shire was NOT a beautiful, verdant place upon the return of Merry and Pippin. WHAT is the deal Mr. Jackson? What about Saruman, and Wormtongue, and all the corruption in the Shire? And, we never really got to see how very valiant Merry and Pippin really became. And the Halls of Healing, where was that? Wow, with so many fans of the books, I really, really REALLY hope that Mr. Jackson just whet our appetite and is planning on including all the details in the extended version DVD. It was like fasting before going to an all-you-can-eat, but only being allowed the tasty salads. You know the rest is there, but no one will let you partake and enjoy the whole experience. Don't let the readers of the series down, Pete. Wow us with the DVD!
Rating:
Summary: The Best Movie Ever
Review: Lord of the Rings is an exciting adventure that is one of the best movies of out time. It has a great casting so that you can really see how great of friends they are and how they would always stick together. This movie will keep you sitting on the edge of your seat for all 3 hours. It has great battle scenes and it finally completes the trilogy. You find out what happens to the ring and each of the members of the fellowship, plus a few more. I garuntee that you will love this move and want to see it again and again.
Rating: 
Summary: Oh Please...
Review: "Return of the King" is the shortest and most forgettable of the three original books (when you discount the great chunk of appendices that pad it out) and not all that much happens in it. Even less happens in this. Frodo and Sam do the last wee bit of their trip to Mount Doom where they have a fight with Gollum. All the other surviving characters go off and have a massive great big battle. The good guys win. Everybody goes home. Ho hum. Much as with the other two, the New Zealand mountain landscape is awesome, especially in a breathtaking scene where the watchfires of Gondor get lit. The battle scenes are pretty cool in places (though after all the monster siege engines giant elephants those dead guys were a damp squib and a desperate anticlimax). Some of the sfx monsters are fun, like the big flying monsters the Nazgul ride and the spider Shelob. But come on folks, let's all grow up. This is, mostways, a tedious, outrageously self-important film vastly hyped and with a monster budget but basically very silly and far too long. Everyone in the world seems determined to see it but, having done so, you would have to be either a serious masochist or a hopeless Tolkien nerd to ever want to sit through it again. Face it, nobody who thinks this is great cinema would know great cinema if it ran them over. At best, in places, it is great spectacle but that is something very different, something whose optimal duration is rather closer to 20 than 200 minutes.
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful Film
Review: I am not one to sit in the theater for hours on end, but for this film I did it twice. I am thrilled with the fact that they did not use huge Hollywood names for this film, and they chose actors that could show the emotion and depth the story called for. I won't get into the plot, but I think it was just a beautiful story with breathtaking effects and a lot of emotion. Even when I saw it the second time, I was on the edge of my seat. Excellent film.
Rating:
Summary: Truly amazed even if I try not to be :-)
Review: I am now going to have to face the fact that RTK is not going to remain at our local theatre for me to see once a week forever, and look on to the release of the DVD, with much anticipation. I generally don't see how anyone could have asked more from a movie, although I suspect that some of the departures from the book will generate some complaining; for myself, I have only one complaint in that department myself, which is that while I couldn't hold any the story departures of "The Two Towers" against the filmmakers, because those departures were fully plausible, I'm not sure I can say the same thing about "RTK". How the palantir got out of Saruman's tower, I'm dying to know (well, that and how the elf-bread that sailed apart out into the air when Gollum threw it came be be still half-wrapped and all in one place when Sam stumbles upon it, but that really is nitpicking). I can't imagine how this wrinkle is going to be ironed out even with the release of an extended version of "RTK" that it is said is going to include scenes of Saruman unless two versions of some moments were shot. While the effect of this is riveting in the theatre: "They did WHAT? What will they do next?" and brings back the element of suspense even for anyone who could recite the book line for line, I will be sad to see this detail ultimately altered because it's one of those little lessons about how pivotal small acts of kindness can be that were not otherwise so overlooked here. In the book, the palantir comes into the hands of the Fellowship as the direct result of an act of mercy to Wormtongue, and of Wormtongue's attempt to do harm in return. It means a great deal, for it's the same message as the acts of mercy to Gollum that will ultimately decide the fate of the Quest. If that isn't resolved by the extended version, that's liable to wear on me a bit when I watch the standard version of the DVD over and over, but it's still a minor complaint and will probably be even more minor when taking in the story in its entirety. Aside from that, it's all I hoped it would be, and more. Those scenes that don't match my imagination of the story, exceed it by far. The filmmakers might be granted a little slack as far as detail also on the account that the story moves quick enough as it is. RTK doesn't seem to linger over anything, no battle scenes seem gratuituously dragged out, and it's hard to imagine as it is how they got so much in there even as long as the movie is. Some minor oversights seem very forgiveable in the face of what an amazing undertaking and accomplishment this series truly is. I hope that my complaints, and those of others, with storylines will be softened in the end by the power of the casting and the acting. It's so hard to imagine anyone else in these roles now, that am sure that I can read the book and see Tolkien's original story with these characters in my imagination quite clearly. After "Fellowship," I was so anxious to get to the end of the story, that I read the next two works, and even then I couldn't picture anyone else as Aragorn or Gandalf, and couldn't for the life of me remember who I'd pictured before. Maybe some of the appreciation for Peter Jackson's amazing work is even yet to come. What I think he's done is create a modern-day "Wizard of Oz," something that can be seen at least once a year in perpetuity without ever losing anything. Maybe it's a little too soon to call it a major classic, but it's easily going to be ageless enough, that it's destined to be.
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