Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Full Movie Reviews

Full Movie Reviews

James
James
Producer

Rating of
4/4

One of the Greats

James - wrote on 09/08/2022


Return of the King is one of my favorite films of all time. It isn’t the strongest cinematic achievement of the trilogy but does best embody the spirit of why I love it. There is a deep passion that Jackson has for this universe and in his directing you see a man who truly enjoys being allowed to finish this story. Nothing in the way the film is shot suggests that Jackson was tired of this trilogy. With Game of Thrones you could see the disinterest the two show runners had in completing the series. It isn’t just Jackson who deserves credit. Without all the cast and crew who worked tirelessly for three years there would be no trilogy.

When you look at Cirith Ungol and Minas Tirith you can tell the people who designed the miniatures still had the dedication. The costumes and …

Aadi srivastava
Aadi srivastava
Rising Star

Rating of
4/4

A grand crowning achievement.

Aadi srivastava - wrote on 03/21/2018

The trilogy has been finished and it has all come to an end. The film is very unique but it has ended very well. The story starts off with Frodo and Sam almost finishing their journey to mount doom to destroy the one ring. In the end, the ring is finally destroyed and Sauron and his armies are wiped out and the king returns and the fellowship is reunited. The best thing about the return of the king is when the two hobbits finally destroy the ring and Sauron and his armies perish and his power is brought down. The film direction is well made and the acting is a blast.

The film special effects are surprising. But what I didn't like about the film was it's running time but still the film manages to work very well. I have never seen a film like this before and I was surprised about the …

Pat
Pat
Producer

Rating of
3.5/4

LOTR the ROTK knitpick list

Pat - wrote on 05/31/2016

The Lord of the Rings trilogy is unique. One may say, "I love the Return of the King and Fellowship, but the Two Towers is my personal favorite." My point is that with most film trilogies, you are gonna easily be able to isolate a favorite film out the three. The Lord of the Rings trilogy is an exception. Peter Jackson dove into this project with an intention to film the whole trilogy in one 15 month shoot, and his intentions exceeded his and everyone's expectations. Sure, a ton of deviation from JRR Tolkien's beloved books was implemented throughout the movies, but the way that it was reflected onto screen was beyond brilliant and greatly complemented the masterful work of Tolkien. Let’s knitpick the final film of the three!

I adore the heck out of this movie, but there is one …

memento_mori
memento_mori
Producer

Rating of
4/4

Makes the other two look modest.

memento_mori - wrote on 08/09/2013

Spoilers

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is considered the best of the trilogy, and for good reason.
It has all the good stuff of the last two movies blended together in this conclusion. It has the great characters again, the better developed journey, a better filled runtime and was one of the greatest endings to a trilogy ever. Plus, this time bigger is better.

But with a lot of greats also come some problems.
A lot of people have brought up the flaws, the main one being the trillion endings. And I agree.
The way the film concluded left me irritated. Whenever it looked like it was going to end, the black would fade into another scene again. And honestly, they could have left it at the first fade to black. The ring was destroyed, Frodo and Sam had found peace and …

Jrmovielover
Jrmovielover
Rising Star

Rating of
4/4

Best in trilogy

Jrmovielover - wrote on 06/17/2013

I have to say. I was kinda worried about this film. The first film was a 90% for me and I expected the second to be at least a 95-98%. This movie ended up being one of the most beautifully done cinematic works of art that I have experienced with my own eyes. Where can start. How bout with Viggo Mortenson. He was phenomenal and that is not an exaggeration in his final performance of the Trilogy. His

"Hold your ground, hold your ground! Sons of Gondor, of Rohan, my brothers! I see in your eyes the same fear that would take the heart of me. A day may come when the courage of men fails, when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship, but it is not this day. An hour of woes and shattered shields, when the age of men comes crashing down! But it is not this day! This day we …

JLFM
JLFM
Producer

Rating of
3/4

The Best of the Trilogy

JLFM - wrote on 08/21/2012

The Lord of the Rings is a somewhat dull trilogy. The Fellowship of the Ring had enough exciting moments to warrant a recommendation, but The Two Towers was inexcusably boring. The final chapter in the trilogy, while still being tedious in parts, is by far the most entertaining.

The plot has not changed in this third installment. Frodo and Sam are trying to get to the land of Mordor to destroy the ring with the (supposed) help of Gollum.

The film's opening is the strongest opening of the entire series. We see Gollum as a hobbit (his name was Smeagol) fishing, when his friend finds a ring in the river. The two fight, and it ultimately ends in Smeagol strangling his "friend." We see years pass as Smeagol slowly transforms into the Gollum. The transformation is grotesque, and …

Yojimbo
Yojimbo
Movie God

Rating of
3/4

"LOTR: The Return Of The King" by Yojimbo

Yojimbo - wrote on 03/26/2012

Frodo reaches Mordor where Gollum reveals his true colours while Gandalf and the fellowship prepare to defend Gondor against the full might of Sauron's armies. All the same strengths and weaknesses of the previous films are still in evidence for the final part of the trilogy. The hobbits are still mildly annoying (although at least in this one they finally grow a pair), the elves seem to serve no purpose other than to slow the film to a snail's pace and the narrative logic is once again questionable (namely flights of giant eagles and ghostly armies with a debt to the king of Gondor that appear at the nick of time that were never before mentioned). The villain also garner's too little screen time and is dispensed with far too easily. On the other hand, battle sequences on a never seen …

Norrin
Norrin
Producer

Rating of
4/4

The Greatest Movie Ever Made

Norrin - wrote on 02/07/2012

"Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King" is quite simply the greatest movie ever made in the history of movies. In fact, the only close competition for that title comes from the first two "Lord Of The Rings" movies. Its one big story, but there is little doubt that "Return of the King" delivers a perfect epic climax to the best movie triology of all time. Peter Jackson has done a magnificent job of bringing J.R.R. Tolkien's brilliant novel to heart racing and vibrant life. The casting is perfect. The acting is terrific. Production values are all subperb and state of the art. In addttion, the battle sequences are some of the best ever put to film. Movies just don't get any better than this. It is tied for the most Oscar wins ever, including Best Picture. For once, the Academy …

Daniel Corleone
Daniel Corleone
Movie God

Rating of
4/4

Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King review

Daniel Corleone - wrote on 09/09/2011

A personal favorite among the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Clearly a cut apart from the first two in terms of effects, pace of story telling and action scenes. Impressive screenplay and drama from the protagonists. One of the best lines from the film: Frodo Baggins - "How do you pick up the threads of an old life? How do you go on, when in your heart you begin to understand... there is no going back? There are some things that time cannot mend. Some hurts that go too deep, that have taken hold." Aragorn - "My friends... you bow to no one." Arwen - "Some things are certain: if I leave him now, I will regret it forever." The movie had won many awards. The length of the film didn't matter since every beautiful frame, texture and dialogue. Themes of leadership, love, persistence and …

Moviejunkie
Moviejunkie
Movie Star

Rating of
4/4

Epic film!!

Moviejunkie - wrote on 09/05/2011

How do you take a story of this magnitude, make it into a series of movies, and not dissapoint some people? You cannot, impossible. Be thankful that Peter Jackson took the initiative and the risk of making these movies in the first place. IF you had read the books, then you would realize that the entire story is to immense to possibly put onto film, especially the limit to which people are willing to sit in a movie theatre. Had Mr. Jackson done so, you would have 3-10 hour movies that quite possibly would bore fans out of the theatre, minus the hardcore. What Mr.Jackson has provided for us is thus, A beautifully made trilogy that is fluid in respects to its cinematic limitations. A rendition of a masterfully written story that many of us fans believed would never come to fruition. …

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