The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

This is THE most amazing film I've ever seen. This is an epic story packed with great suspense-filled battles, excellent music, great acting, with a glimmer of hope shining like a light in the darkness even when all seems lost—it is clear to me that there is simply no film that can bring the viewer  .

Let me just get this out of the way. There is one element of Return of the King that I will never, EVER like: the giant-ass, hairy spider. I hate tarantulas with a passion. If there's a moving circle that's the size of my hand, has eight legs, and covered in hair, I'm running for the hills. (Shudders)


Anywho....The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is the third and final film in the Lord of the Rings trilogy directed and co-written by Peter Jackson. Picking up soon after The Two Towers, RotK follows Frodo (Elijah Wood) and Sam (Sean Astin) as they edge ever closer to the lands of Mordor to destroy the One Ring. They are joined by the creature Gollum (Andy Serkis), who plots to tear Frodo and Sam apart and take the Ring for himself. Meanwhile, Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen), Gandalf (Ian McKellen), and the rest of the remaining Fellowship works to protect the city of Gondor from Sauron's wrath. The war for Middle-Earth culminates in one last desperate battle as Aragorn and co. try to distract Sauron to buy Frodo and Sam the time they need to destroy the Ring. All of the main cast members from the previous films return, and they are joined by John Noble as Denethor, and in the Extended Edition, Brad Dourif as Grima Wormtongue and Christopher Lee as Saruman.

Not only is RotK the winner of 11 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, it's also easily my favorite of the trilogy. I'm a guy who loves finales, and it's great to see Jackson and his team pull out all the stops for this last adventure. The actors turn in some of their best work in the series. Elijah Wood delivers a very strong performance as Frodo, who descends further into madness in this movie than ever before. Viggo Mortensen is unstoppable as Aragorn, who finally embraces his destiny as king of the race of Men. Ian McKellen's Gandalf is a wise, poetic figure who gets some of his best moments here. Miranda Otto's Eowyn is a standout, as is Bernard Hill's Theoden and David Wenham's Faramir. Billy Boyd and Dominic Monaghan give it their all as Pippin and Merry. Andy Serkis's performances as Smeagol and Gollum are on a whole other frightening level in this movie.

Of course, special praise goes to Sean Astin as the loyal Samwise. Sam gets his crowning moments in the trilogy here, as he sinks ever deeper into despair at the thought of losing Frodo to the power of the Ring, but still resolves to help his best friend finish his mission regardless of what happens to him. In a lot of ways, we wouldn't be nearly as close to the end without Sam's unwavering determination, and the script makes that truly, painfully clear. His pained, resolute words at the base of Mount Doom is among the best moments in the trilogy.
Story: 4/5. What a conclusion. I'm so used to the third film in a trilogy fumbling that I was unprepared for how good this would be. Following on the incredible setups from the Two Towers, there was so much story that needed settling and being done meaningfully. The fact that all of the major plot points could be so equally compelling while taking up such huge chunks of screen time is commendable. The main battle sequence managed to be even bigger and graver than the last, while giving fruitful development to many of the characters established in the Two Towers. The tension with Gollum was rife and pivotal to the deep companionship between Sam and Frodo. The moments of being saved right before tragedy were mostly plausible and setup well, with just the eagles being a minor thing. Very minor, though. All that runtime and none of it ultimately feels wasted because every action is given purpose. 

Visuals: 5/5. The CGI problems I had with the Two Towers are pretty much mostly fixed and gone by this point. Despite more creatures and a bigger battle to deal with, it never felt too big for the production team. The worlds are vast and the sets massive, and it all feels real and within reasonable scope. The battles were communicated well and shot in a way which never made them jarring or difficult to follow. The makeup and costumes were great, as always. 





Sound: 4/5. Once again, a great score, hitting all of the right beats as and when it needed to. Down to the closing piece, again. The music felt more thematic this time around, returning as needed with particular motifs. The sound design was a major part of the battles having the impact they needed to, along with the eventual climb and sequences at Mordor. 

13/15: An impeccable conclusion to this massive trilogy. Well-written characters and masterful set-pieces make this a memorable experience.


Of all the LotR movies, RotK is the one that plays out the most like a horror movie. From the opening scene of Smeagol's corruption by the Ring, to the frightening, disgusting showdown with Shelob, to the climax in Mount Doom, this is easily the darkest film in the trilogy. Frodo's journey and the pressure of holding the Ring have taken such a heavy toll on him, and RotK does a great job of portraying the effect war has on people. We met Frodo as a bright-eyed young Hobbit seeking knowledge of the outside world, and now, at the end, he's a shadow of the person he once was. After such a terrible quest, you aren't going to just come back from that, and Wood portrays his character's descent brilliantly.

The visual effects deserve a shout-out here. Despite releasing in 2003, RotK's effects largely hold up, even if there are still some cracks. Gollum looks more real and scary than ever, the battle scenes are huge and stunning, and Mount Doom is especially a masterclass in sound and production design. Even the Shelob encounter is impressive to behold (if you aren't looking away in terror and repulsion, at least....).

The Return of the King: an emotional, haunting finale to one of cinema's most important film series. Now if only Shelob was a lizard instead....(Shudders)