Review of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) by Chris W — 20 Jul 2013

The final film of Peter Jackson's trilogy is the best of the films. Winner of 11 Oscars, including a much-deserved Academy Award for Best Picture, it tied "Ben-Hur" and "Titanic" for the most Oscars won by a single film and holds the record for biggest sweep in Oscar history.

The film's sheer epic spectacle is unmatchable for a film of this scale. Outstanding performances by the cast, including Elijah Wood as Frodo who is struggling more and more with resisting the One Ring, and we can feel his pain with how far he's gone since his homeland.

Sean Astin, once again, doesn't cease to amaze me with his amazing performance as Sam Gamgee, whose loyalty and courage to support his friend to the end is unsurpassed by even superhero sidekicks in comic books.

Andy Serkis shines again as the monstrous Gollum who gives into his lust for the Ring. The battle of Pelennor Fields is done as incredibly epic and spectacular as any of the world's greatest war films.

Howard Shore's Oscar-winning score in this sequel as incredible as the past two films and his and Annie Lennox's Oscar-winning song "Into the West" is one of the best and most heartwarming ballads I've heard in film.

Peter Jackson outdid himself with his trilogy and his final film shows how passionate he was about his work of bringing JRR Tolkien's books to life like never before. Even if the film's over three hours long, not one minute is unenjoyable.

One of the best films I've ever seen and one the best films in history.