The Lord of the Rings - The Return of the King (Full Screen Edition)

Rating:
Summary: A good end to a fantasy classic
Review: This movie lives up to the hype and expectation...all three and half hours of it. The movie deviates from the book; yes, but it is all done to make a great movie. The movie is well paced for being as long as it is and seems to blend together the Frodo, Sam, Gollum and the ring story well with all the other plot lines. The epic battle scenes are also well placed throughout the movie.
It is great to see some of the most well known scenes from the book on film. Such as Pippin looking into the Palantir, Faramir being burned alive by his own father, the fight with Shellob and of course the casting of the ring back into the fires of Mount Doom. Fans of the book will miss the Saruman in the Shire scene at the end. As a matter of fact, Saruman is not in this movie at all.
The movie does sort of drag by the time the group of hobbits reach the mouth of Mount Doom. Frodo becomes more the perpatrator of Gollum and the ring's demise in the movie which hard core fans of the book may not like. Overall, the setting is very much like the one imagined from the book.
The movie isn't totally perfect. The acting from a few (more or less from Legolas)is a little weak at times. The end does begin to drag since the fact you've been sitting staring at the screen for over three hours sets in. But it is well deserved screen time. Return of the King will probably go down as the best of the three. Lord of the Rings is probably one of the best film trilogies ever made. Most Trilogies have a stinker in the bunch but Lord of the Rings is a pretty consistant trilogy. Well done Peter Jackson.

Rating:
Summary: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Is Magnificent
Review: The Fellowship of the Ring: 5/5
The Two Towers: 4/5
The Return of the King: 5/5

The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy has, in no doubt, three of the best fantasy movies ever made! The Fellowship of the Ring was a wonderful movie to start the trilogy. The Two Towers was wonderful, but it wasn't as good as I had hoped it to be. The Return of the King, however, was better than what I had hoped it to be. The battle scenes in this movie are breathtaking while the special effects are stunning! This movie has a lot of great emotional scenes in it that will bring tears to your eyes. The acting in The Return of the King is brilliant! Sean Astin deserves an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. The only flaw in this movie is that it has a pretty long ending. Though the ending is long, it isn't bad. It is actually very emotional and puts a wonderful end to a wonderful trilogy. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is the best Lord of the Rings movie and ranks as one of the best motion pictures of 2003.

Rating:
Summary: Better that the books-- That's right, I said it-- BETTER!
Review: Once again I see a film with a 5 star customer rating at Amazon. Once again I look for the few bad reviews to see why some people didn't like it. Yeah, I read the books, so? I had to for High School creative writing. I did it for a grade, and fought to get through every single line. That was when I was a kid, and had more pressing matters, like this chick named Alexis in my Econ class. Woah baby! As an adult, however, I appreciate them for the masterpieces that they are' but I have my reservations.

I couldn't stand the flowery language these people used. That will no doubt get a few 'no help' clicks on this review. HAH! But be honest, the dialogue in the books read well but probably wouldn't sound too good to modern ears when spoken aloud. I'm glad they changed so much of it, and stuck to what was important. Tom Bombadil was useless, so was his blue jacket and pretty yellow boots, so stop crowing about his absence!

So here's the deal. Idiots giving Return of the King less than 4 stars read the books, and are now denouncing the movies simply for not being the books. 'Bite me', says I. Go roll a 20 sided die (or 2d10), and see if anyone cares. Those people missed their 'saving throw' versus 'stupid'! P.J. knew what he was doing, and knew that most people would roll their eyes if he presented a direct adaptation of the literature and expect people to sit through it.

The books were boring, probably to most of the world. Too much is too much. Orcs singing, all the wonderful poetry and exquisite use of the English language while really cool in a book, simply sounds stupid coming out of someone's mouth in this day and age. Using what was useful from the books and rejecting what was useless, knowing that he was going to ruffle a few Tolkien fan's feathers was a smart move, for there are more movie buffs who couldn't care less than there are Tolkien Fans who do. Many Tolkien fans I have learned, loved all three of these movies. So what he gained was acclaim from people who pay at the movies to see movies, not to have a book recited back to them'get the unabridged audio book for that, man! I'm tired of all the bookworms bitching'and they're doing most of it in Elvish, so I can't understand them anyway.

As for Return of the King, on the screen, this movie was astounding. It was fast paced and tense. It was far more action packed than either of the two movies before it, and while the ending could have been shorter I can say nothing bad about it. The battles were believable the winged dragon things were great and Shelob nearly scared me out of the theater.

People can look at digital effects and see digital effects'others use their minds and imaginations and see art, and beautiful scenery and allow themselves to be entertained. A one-star fool here actually suggested they should've used a 'real' actor for Gollum instead of CGI. Hey dipstick, they DID use a real actor and they painted the cgi over him, as if it were makeup. If you want to see creatures that aren't human, but look human watch Star Trek and leave good character development to the experts. Chump.

There was so much to take in; I know I'm going to see it again. And when the DVD comes out I'm going to buy it. And when the extended addition DVD comes out, I'm going to buy that also! The last trilogy I saw that made the kind of impact LOTR made started when I was 2 ½ years old and ended when I was 10. It was the Star Wars trilogy.

The Matrix came close. It started good but sunk like a stone. The three LOTR films are hopefully the sign of the times, that finally a story as vivid as ones imagination can be shown in a cinema. Click on how this didn't help you, haters and nay-sayers! There seem to be plenty of people who don't need my help to recognize brilliant filmmaking when they see it.

Rating:
Summary: Excellant
Review: Best of the three films.. The three hours and twenty minutes went by quickly. The cinematography was vibrant, the musical score was beautiful and the direction was a masterpiece. I am looking forward to the DVD so I can watch it without cell phones lighting up, popcorn cartons rattling and the man sitting next to me translating the movie to his wife who did not understand English very well. Next time a new movie comes out I am going to wait until it has been out for a while so the theater is not packed so I can move to another location if I get trapped near inconsiderate people.

Rating:
Summary: WONDERFUL!!!!.....if.....you havent read the book....
Review: Return of the King was a well made movie, but as far as keeping to the book... it failed. miserably. change is not a bad thing, but when it comes to major changes that are just WRONG! its a problem. for instance, it seems funny that jackson would go through all the trouble to make 3 wonderful and detailed films... and then at the end, frodo looses the wrong finger... denathor becomes a falling fireball after getting knocked around a bunch by gandalf's staff, arwen becomes pathetic and decides now that she is mortal she will die if the ring doesnt, poor merry gets dragged along to the gates of mordor w/ a useless arm, poor faramir litterally gets dragged across the feild of pelanor while his men lead his horse...ahh but u can see the movie for yourself.... some of the injustice is too great....
billy boyd does have a very nice singing voice tho... and legolas's conquering of the oliphant was quite cool...

Rating:
Summary: Best movie ever!
Review: A triumphant finale to the most awesome movie trilogy ever filmed. Epic in scale. Only next years extended DVD version could be better!

Rating:
Summary: Regarding the Ending of 'The Return of the King'
Review: Inspite of what some say here, I find the ending of 'The Return of the King' to be beautifully done. The book winds down slowly, touching all of these endings (which are new beginnings for many of the players) while the movie attempts to remain faithful to the book, leaving out only 'The Scouring of The Shire.'

I was glad to see Peter Jackson complete the movie in this manner and would have felt cheated if he had not included all of these vignettes at the end of this movie. Hey, for those who can't handle emotional endings (or the lack of an intense battle scene right at the end of a movie), just shut your dvd off (when it comes out of dvd) right after The rescue of Frodo and Sam. That should make you happy. But for the rest of us, the ending(s) were beautifully rendered, right out of the book, and right on the money.

Rating:
Summary: I want more
Review: I've been in love with the Lord of the Rings books for over 10 years. That's half my life. In the first year alone I read the trilogy five times, and steadily afterwards.

Anyway, I was excited beyond reason at the prospect of a movie series. I had VERY high hopes. The first wasn't all I had hoped for, but great nonetheless. The second was DAMN good and the third incredible. I would have to say it's my new favourite movie.

Such a solidly crafted work of art, incredible imagery, detailed attention to the original story line. I found myself repeating the very words they would use on screen in my head before they were even uttered.

The war scenes were something else. I've never been more impressed. I found myself utterly entranced. My whole heart and mind in the world of middle earth. This world will forever remain with me. 10+ stars!

Good job All who made these films a reality! I was lucky enough to catch a glimpse of the stars and director at the European Premiere in Berlin. Many guests were invited. All the others strutting down the red carpet full of themselves while the Lord of the Rings cast were the opposite; friendly and humble. They really are such special people.

I want more! They should have made it a six parter like the original volumes. More films like this should be made.

Rating:
Summary: Better Than The Books!
Review: The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy is indeed better than the books! I have never read the books because I really don't like to read much at all. The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy is good enough for me. The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers were two brilliant movies that were exciting and adventurous to watch. But, The Return of the King is much better than its two brilliant prequels. The battle sequences, drama, and adventure is much more enhanced in this most phenomenal movie! The music (score), special effects, and acting is incredibly spectacular in The Return of the King. When I watched this movie I could feel the anticipation flowing through my mind and the adrenalin pumping in my body. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is filled with so much excitment, anticipation, and mind-blowing scenes that it will have you wanting to see it again and again in the theatre. This is the best movie of 2003 and the best movie in The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Rating:
Summary: A fitting climax to an amazing series
Review: (4 and 1/2 stars) Just like the first two films, Return of the King contains so many spectacular scenes. For example, the scene of the Gondor Regent leaping in flames from the top of Minas Tirith is one I will never forget. The battle scenes are also just as dramatic -- or even more -- than in The Two Towers. There's a tremendous amount to absorb visually -- I do recommend seeing the film at least a second time.

This trilogy of movies was a classic for the ages, and I will treasure my collection of the extended versions once this final one comes out on DVD (the 4-CD version) next November. As much as I loved it, though, ROTK is not perfect. The first hour of the movie is very slow moving, and I also thought the early scene where Pippin curiously handles Saruman's dark crystal ball was very clumbsily filmed. Those are minor quibbles, though.