The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King is the final movie in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, directed by Peter Jackson and adapted from the epic fantasy novels by J.R.R Tolkien. The film continues the story of Frodo Baggins, a small half-man who is bestowed with a great destiny.
Together with the help of his friends, Frodo must return the all-powerful ring to Mount Doom and destroy it. If not, the armies of the dark lord Sauron threaten to overthrow civilization and take over the fantasy realm of Middle Earth.
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The Film Review
This title is considered one of the most successful movies of all time, earning more than $1 billion in worldwide sales.
It also swept the Academy Awards the year it released, with over 10 unique wins and nominations. Simply put, The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King is one of the most influential and expensive fantasy films ever made, and it does great justice to the end of the story started in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.
The story picks up directly after the end of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. Hobbits Frodo (Elijah Wood) and Samwise (Sean Astin) continue their journey to Mount Doom, joined by the mischievous creature Smeagle. Elsewhere in the fantasy realm of Middle Earth, the forces of good prepare for battle against the impending return of the dark villain Sauron.
Like the other two films, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is a lengthy delve in the fantasy genre. Although it mostly serves as a climax to the story started in the first two movies, The Return of the King features a slew of memorable new locations and characters. Both focal parties (The hobbits and the heroes from the past films) travel to exciting cities and environments and run into memorable new creatures and characters.
This is is an exceptionally long movie, clocking in at well over 3 hours long. Despite that, it’s very well paced. The first hour and a half is a great lead-up to a fantastic battle sequence, which naturally leads to the climactic moments of the trilogy.
The end of the film can feel a bit drawn out, but for the most part, your attention will be grabbed for the entire length of the movie. Every scene is packed with excellent visuals and awesome cinematography, and every line of dialogue is expertly written and perfectly delivered.
As the closing film in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, the Return of the King excels and impresses. It finishes off an epic fantasy trilogy the right way, with plenty of closure, epic battles, and unforgettable scenes.
Like the Star Wars franchise and the recent Marvel cinematic universe, The Lord of the Rings is easily one of the biggest and most impressive film franchises in all of cinema history. If you’ve never seen this trilogy, you should definitely take the time to experience it.
