The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

The editing is too brutal, the characterization of the main protagonists changes during the movie, the ending is needlessly tearful and it’s dragged out maddeningly. But who care when there are so many incredibly powerful scenes that you only realize the downsides of the movie long after you have left the movie theater. This time the extended edition is half-way between interesting additional footage like with The Fellowship and a totally different (and better) movie like with The Two Towers. Some of the scenes added are pointless, but many of them do much to augment the movie as a whole. For instance, it is fascinating how a couple of extra sentences manage to give a completely different meaning to things and depth to the tragedy of Théoden’s fate than in the theatrical version. (29/04/2005)

In terms of filmmaking (the book is of course better) The Return of the King appears to be the weakest of the trilogy. Yes, the film is still excellent and deserves five stars, but it's not quite the same. The first part is something indescribably amazing, a film told at a slow pace, highlighting the monumental quest with visual and narrative sophistication; simply put, The Fellowship of the Ring is "something new". Peter Jackson couldn't rely on that in The Two Towers, but he solved it splendidly. The pace sped up, the atmosphere got darker, there’s more action (the amazing Battle of Helm's Deep) and the result was again breathtaking. But what about the third part? There was no more room for improvement. The atmosphere is somewhat gone, the battles are even bigger, grander, and more computer-generated, and simply put, it's not as impressive as before, and together it feels slightly disjointed. Despite all of that, it still deserves a full score because it concludes a brilliant trilogy, and rightfully it is the biggest and most megalomaniacal of all three parts, which is no small feat. (16/01/2004)

Peter Jackson lives on a enchanted island behind a fog so thick it could be cut. He's a mischievous leprechaun, curious as a monkey... hmm, sorry! Two hours after the premiere and I'm so overwhelmed with impressions that I don't even know what I'm writing. Anyway. What I appreciate most about Jackson's trilogy is not the bombastic visual effects, the massive battle sequences and the perfectly rendered monsters – good visual effects and megalomaniacal stunning shots are not the measure of a good film for me, quite the contrary – what I appreciate about this trilogy is Jackson's work with details, his inventiveness, the way he can turn a seemingly banal situation into an emotionally compelling moment, or the way he leads the actors. Be it, for example, the esoterically charged scenes from Lothlórien in The Fellowship, the gift-giving to Galadriel, the kitschy yet beautiful scene with Arwen in The Two Towers, the subtly conceived scene between Éowyn and Wormtongue and the subsequent tearing down of the banner upon the arrival of Gandalf and co., etc. It would be a long list, proving the great imagination Jackson possesses. Where others would just tell a standard story, Jackson comes up with plenty of machinations that make the film a memorable spectacle. The only problem is that there are so many visual sensations in each episode that you are not able to digest it all in one go and you absorb it only on the second or third viewing. And that’s the issue with Return of the King. The first half left no emotional impact on me. After an excellent beginning with Sméagol, the plot rushed forward too fast, scene after scene, and I could feel very strongly how the editor's hand was in power. Here I believe that the final impression will be considerably improved by the extended version. The second half, however, banished my gloom. Not so much because of the massive battle (which for me is more of an ode to Massive's abilities with lots of computer-generated figures and models, and basically left me cold), but because of the awesome moments, such as Faramir's suicide mission. Then there’s the scene in Mount Doom, Eliah Wood and Sean Astin make it a fantastic show thanks to their acting. The look on Frodo's face, when.....but no, I'm not going to spoil it, and it's a must-see....And that much-criticized final farewell scene? I don't know if I'm the weird one or the others, but I didn't find it long at all, on the contrary it's terribly beautiful, touching and maybe the best of the whole film. (16/01/2004)

A long shadow lies over the land, dark wings extend to the west. The tower is shaking; fate approaches the tombs of kings. The dead awaken; for the treacherous, the hour has come; they will stand again at the Stone of Erech and hear the horn's call from the mountains. Whose horn will it be? Who will summon them from the gray twilight, the forgotten nation? The heir to whom they swore. From the North he shall come, driven by desperation: he will pass through the doors of the Paths of the Dead. A magnificent film in every detail and the true culmination of the most beloved trilogy. The Return of the King is an emotionally charged punctuation mark to a gripping journey that has fundamentally changed my life. Each part is fully appreciable only after watching the extended version, but in the case of the final stage, it's not so much about plot twists as it is about the impact on emotions. The Healing Houses are a shining example that embodies my imagination from reading. And which part is the best? After four viewings out of five, I would say that the leading piece of the mosaic is The Fellowship, and the fifth time would be none other than The Return of the King, but The Lord of the Rings is in my eyes an invincible whole and the greatest saga in the history of cinematography. (23/12/2004)

One of the best movies of all time. What else can I say? I've been crying for the past hour basically non-stop with it. Only "Big Fish" managed to evoke this in me, but only the first time. A beautiful culmination of the whole opus, to which even Peter Jackson himself could no longer match. Although maybe he will surprise us with the third part of "The Hobbit". I simply have no words for "The Return of the King". A magnificent film, where everything came together in the right place and at the right time. (28/01/2014)