The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

The conclusion of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, featuring the battle for the white city of Gondor, and the conclusion of Frodo and Sam’s quest to reach Mount Doom.

Well, director Peter Jackson did it. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is an impressive finale to perhaps the most impressive film trilogy ever made. While Lucas, Coppella, and the Wachowski’s may have all delivered sub-par conclusions to their respective trilogies, Jackson finishes strong here with a spectacular epic that wraps up all the threads of the first two films.

Indeed, the only fault that can be leveled against The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, is that it has too many endings. Some blame can be laid on the source material, but most must fall on the shoulders of Jackson and his editors, as the multiple endings rob the audience of a single, satisfying conclusion. Still, this is a minor quibble with a spectacular piece of storytelling that never loses it’s way in a sea of special effects.

At it’s heart, The Lord of the Rings is a story about people and in spite of all the special effects, this movie relies on it’s actors to carry it. The CGI may wow an audience, but it’s the charisma of the lead characters that wins them over; a fact Jackson never loses sight of.