LOTR : The Return Of The King (2003)

[a truly epic finale to an amazing trilogy]

The Lord Of The Rings : The Return Of The King (2003)
IMDB- 8.9 (Top 250 : #9)
Rottentomatoes- 94%
RJG Rating- 100

The final battle for Middle Earth begins ,while Frodo & Sam move closer to the end of their journey.

Starring- Elijah Wood,Ian McKellen,Viggo M,Sean Astin,Orlando B,John Rhys,Andy Serkis,Miranda O,Billy B, Dominic M.
Director- Peter Jackson

FOTR started off as an adventure ,Two Towers was a preparation for battle while ROTK is an all out battle.The entrire trilogy was headed towards this part ,and what a finale it is.

While Frodo,Sam & Gollum lead the way as usual ,the main characters that got highlight were Merry & Pippin played by Billy & Dominic.Both proved that they need not be always paired together to give good performances.Viggo ,Orlando ,John Rhys and Ian McK give good supporting roles.Elijah ,Sean & Andy Serkis give excellent performances.

Unlike the previous two installments,ROTK directly moves ahead to the epic battle.Theres a constant thrill and action and the subplots didnt slowen the pace like it did in Two Thrones.ROTK is also the longest of the 3 ,the extended edition being more than 4hrs long!But its all worth it.The story is dense and the various sub plots are neatly presented.The long epilogue gives off the feeling of wraping up the long novel LOTR is.The motivating war speeches will send a chill up your spine.

Peter Jackson succeeded in bringing such a large tale as LOTR ,to the viewers.His direction in ROTK is perfect ,and just like the previous 2 movies ,his dedication and hardwork can be seen in every scene.While its easy to mistake the series as an allout action movie ,Peter has embedded the movie with enough heart.He manages to capture almost all genres within the series.

ROTK was perfect in all its departments.Music,Visual Effects,Editing and so on.The technical aspects of the movie are spot on.An unusual specialty of the movie is that its the only series in history to be written and shot simultaneously.

On release ,the movie was a blockbuster hit.The anticipation for the finale of LOTR pushed the movie to make more than $1billion worldwide ,thus becoming only the second movie to make more a billion dollars (the first being Titanic).ROTK was loved by the critics and was among the Top 10 lists of many critics.

Peter Jackson and crew were rewarded for their work when they bagged all 11 awards it was nominated for at the Academy Awards,thus tying with legendary movies such Ben Hur & Titanic for most Oscars won.Till date ,its the most successful movie in Academy Award history (11/11).

Overall,ROTK wraps up the tale of the numerous characters and gives LOTR the intense climax it deserved.Its a must watch for movie lovers.Watching all 3 parts is an experience not to be missed !

Acting- 5/5
Story- 5/5
Direction- 5/5
Action- 5/5
Drama- 5/5
Suspense- 5/5
Visual Effects- 5/5


Academy Award-Oscars
Won-- 11
Best Film
Best Director - Peter Jackson
Best Adapted Screenplay -Peter Jackson ,Fran Walsh ,Philippa Boyens
Best Film Editing
Best Art Direction
Best Costume Design
Best Makeup
Best Music ,Original Score -Howard Shore
Best Music ,Original Song - "Into the West" by Fran Walsh,Howard Shore,Annie Lennox
Best Sound Mixing
Best Visual Effects