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| The great film of our time. The film which makes the heart leap, the tears flow, the adrenaline race like never before. The film which makes you laugh out loud, cower in fear, feel dizzy with vertigo, and at the end - and be warned, it sure does takes its time to finish - feel exhausted, dazed and slightly thankful it's all over. At least, until those compulsory further viewings... Peter Jackson and his crew have saved the best and the boldest for last... Performance-wise, many of Jackson's cast - some of whom were previously sideline characters - shine like never before. Among them Sean Astin as Frodo's companion Sam, whose character becomes something much more than the loyal simpleton of earlier episodes. Likewise, Billy Boyd as Pippin gains in stature and sings a couple of songs while he's at it. Also outstanding is Bernard Hill as King Theoden, whose character has transformed from a wizened Lear to a heroic Henry V. He also delivers one of the great speeches to the troops ever committed to celluloid... As in the book, it does take a while to find its ending, even without including episodes such as the scouring of the Shire, which were discarded by Jackson and his co-writers. If it takes a while to wrap up, then again it is the ending to what is effectively one very big movie. It should be allowed a few curtain calls. If it takes its time to roll the end credits, for much of the film it is beyond exhilarating and certainly the best of the three, effectively elevating the series into the greatest trilogy in cinema history. Peter Jackson started off filming a legend. Now he is one. |
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| (Russell Baillie, New Zealand Herald) |
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| There can be no greater gift for a movie lover than the one bestowed upon audiences by Peter Jackson, whose The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is not only the best movie of 2003, but the crowning cinematic achievement of the past several years. In fact, labeling this as a ‘movie’ is almost an injustice. This is an experience of epic scope and grandeur, amazing emotional power, and relentless momentum... Expectedly, the special effects set a new standard. The CGI participants of the major battles look more like real combatants than cartoonish computer creations. The locations, set design, and costumes are without flaw. By building many of the elaborate locales, Jackson achieves a sense of verisimilitude that he might not have attained by relying more heavily on computers. And composer Howard Shore's score is perfectly wed to the visuals, being alternately bombastic and delicate, as circumstances dictate. |
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| (James Berardinelli, Reelviews) |
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| Not to beat around the bush, this film is soul-stirring perfection. |
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| (Andrea Chase, Killer Movie Reviews) |
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| The crowning achievement of Peter Jackson's awesome adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's trilogy, a majestic conclusion to a nine-plus-hours epic that stirs the heart, mind and soul as few films ever have. Artistically delivering beyond anyone's imagination on one of the biggest gambles in Hollywood history, this $330 million masterpiece takes its rightful place among such classics as The Wizard of Oz, Gone With the Wind and Lawrence of Arabia. |
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| (Lou Lumenick, New York Post) |
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| It rises, all on its own, to the realm of masterwork. |
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| (Michael Sragow, Baltimore Sun) |
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| Jackson had the vision, persistence, insight and patience for this mighty job, plus the smarts to shape stage veterans and overlooked film actors into a seamless cast. He's made himself as immortal as a movie director can be. |
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| (Lawrence Toppman, Charlotte Observer) |
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| Ties everything together with a dazzling synthesis of pagan animism, heroic quest mythology, orientalism, Pre-Raphaelite imagery, 1950s sci-fi creature features, and Hollywood war epics. |
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| (Andrea Gronvall, Chicago Reader) |
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| Like all great fantasies and epics, this one leaves you with the sense that its wonders are real, its dreams are palpable. |
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| (Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune) |
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| This film is a miracle, an extravaganza equal to its predecessors and in some ways more stunning. It is a profound testament to the extraordinary power of moving images and sound. |
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| (Gregory Weinkauf, Dallas Observer) |
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| Feels like a miracle, a movie that exceeds even the most formidable expectations without straying from its singular path. All hail this King. |
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| (Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald) |
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| The Ring films, like Master and Commander, celebrate old-fashioned martial virtues: honor, duty, comradeship, sacrifice — soldiering on, under an immense, sapping burden. Though the trilogy percolates with bracing adventure, it is a testament to the long slog of any war... The devotion of Sam is inspiring. His plea to Frodo - ’Don't go where I can't follow!’ - makes him the film's real hero... The second half of the film elevates all the story elements to Beethovenian crescendo. Here is an epic with literature's depth and opera's splendor — and one that could be achieved only in movies. What could be more terrific? |
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| (Richard Corliss, Time) |
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| A soaring legend in its own day and destined to be cherished for many ages to come. The Return of the King is the longest and most complicated of the three Rings films and probably fated to be the biggest moneymaker. Sure to be an Oscar contender in many categories and a breathtaking argument for director Peter Jackson winning every award there is to give, King has none of the usual deficiencies that frequently scuttle third films... Jackson and co-writers Philippa Boyens and Fran Walsh make noteworthy departures from Tolkien, including such crucial moments as what happens when Frodo is finally standing on a ledge over the Crack of Doom inside the volcano where the ring must be destroyed, and how Aragorn makes use of the Army of the Dead that only he can command. Whole swathes of the book have been condensed and eliminated, but Jackson and company usually realize splendidly whatever they take on... The extended DVD should bind King and the other two films into one awesome movie deserving of regular revivals in theaters. But who can resist right now a classic fantasy adventure that never drags and is simply ravishing to look at thanks to the thousands of craftsmen, performers, animals and postproduction refiners? |
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| (David Hunter, Hollywood Reporter) |
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| Such a stunning achievement by Jackson that it's hard to believe that he could ever be able to surpass it even if he make a hundred more films. |
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| (Steve Rhodes, Steve Rhodes' Internet Reviews) |
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| Peter Jackson may very well have just completed the best movie trilogy ever made. |
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| (Michael Elliott, Movie Parables) |
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| Special effects are first rate with the Gollum sequences virtually flawless. |
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| (Robin Clifford, Reeling Reviews) |
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| An immense achievement founded on the enduring themes of loyalty, destiny, and hope. |
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| (Jeanne Aufmuth, Palo Alto Weekly) |
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| Sometimes intoxicating, occasionally exhilarating. |
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| (Walter Chaw, Film Freak Central) |
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| The conclusion of Peter Jackson's masterwork is passionate and literate, detailed and expansive, and it's conceived with a risk-taking flair for old-fashioned movie magic at its most precious. |
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| (Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly) |
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| Astonishing! Creates a new level of filmmaking genius. |
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| (Victoria Alexander, Filmsinreview.com) |
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| Return of the King is the best film of Peter Jackson's epic trilogy. Return of the King is also the longest of the three, the most emotionally enriching, and the most violent, as Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, and their small armies of men battle not just 10,000 orcs (as in Two Towers' Helm's Deep), but, rather, 600,000 orcs, evil men, trolls, and flying Nazgul... The film promotes character traits like self-sacrifice, unwavering friendship, and mercy. In fact, these noble qualities, as well as providence, prevail throughout all three Lord the the Rings films. If you are at all unsure whether your kids will be able to handle Return of the King, see the film yourself first, then decide. You will enjoy seeing it a second time anyway. Enjoy Return of the King - the best film of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, this year, and, perhaps, this decade. |
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| (Jeremy Landes, Christian Spotlight on the Movies) |
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| Despite shooting all three films at the same time and doing a hell of a job on parts one and two, Jackson's work here is his finest hour, more accomplished and assured than ever... The movie dazzles the eye as much as it does the mind and heart. |
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| (Shawn Fitzgerald, Musiccomh) |
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| An exquisite film. By far the best of its genre. By far the best film of the year so far. It is absolutely incredible. It's mindblowing, exhilarating, moving, and exhausting (in a good way). The scope of the film is massive and yet the character moments are intimate. The film is such an accomplishment on so many different levels, I will be shocked if it doesn’t clean up at the Oscars.... The most important aspect of the film for me was that, like the books, ROTK really centered on the hobbits. They all get there time to shine and rightly so. The story is after all about the smallest person being able to to make the biggest difference. |
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| (T-gun, Ain’t It Cool News) |
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| I contrast this film with steaming turds of post-modernity like Kill Bill and Matrix Revolutions. All three films are loaded with battles, heroes and darkness, but Return gives them something real to fight for: friendship, family and the meek who confound the intelligent elite who corner the market on overt power... As a content creator in Hollywood, it was a joy to turn around and see the rest of the audience watching the screen WITH THEIR JAWS DROPPED OPEN. I see Kill Bill and Revolutions and I say, ‘[I could do that sitting on the toilet.’... I saw Return of the King tonight and I was utterly humiliated. Hollywood’s been caught with their pants down. |
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| (Dr. Ong, Ain’t It Cool News) |
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| Jackson’s majestic longshots and extreme close-ups will make you swoon. Wind and fire are their own characters, and there’s a primordial wistfulness to many of the film’s power shots (namely the sight of a defeated Frodo and Sam at Mount Doom while fireballs whisk by their heads). Because of their elegiac stillness, it’s as if we’re watching daguerreotypes from an audacious, ridiculously dramatic neverland. The film’s best (often simplest) fantastical flights of fancy (an impromptu beam of light from Gandalf’s staff, the flight of savior eagles) are those that smooth out the roughest battle scars and evoke losses being rewarded from cosmic beyonds. We permit the CGI madness because there’s an unmistakable transcendental quality to the film’s images, and Jackson respects and authenticates Tolkein’s core principles of sacrifice and spiritual ascendance. |
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| (Ed Gonzalez, Slant Magazine) |
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| I don't know if this third and final chapter is better or worse than The Two Towers or Fellowship of the Ring, but I don't care and neither should you. It's a glorious, crowning chapter to the ultimate gold standard in sweeping epic adventure. And best of all, none of these three movies contains Ben Affleck! Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King caps an extraordinary achievement in cinema history. If Oscar is for anything, it must be for this. |
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| (Mark Ramsey, Moviejuice) |
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| The second installment was better than the first, and this one is best of all. It has spectacular action scenes and imaginary creatures, and it's by far the most moving chapter. The performances have deepened. |
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| (David Ansen, Newsweek) |
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| Represents that filmmaking rarity - a third part of a trilogy that is decisively the best of the lot. With epic conflict, staggering battles, striking landscapes and effects, and resolved character arcs all leading to a dramatic conclusion to more than nine hours of masterful storytelling. |
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| (Todd McCarthy, Variety) |
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| Peter Jackson concludes his ambitious three-film Lord of the Rings epic with one of the most astonishingly powerful action-adventure movies ever made. Not only does Jackson meet impossibly-high expectations, but he uses inventiveness and passion to add texture and emotional energy to an already rich story… Technically this is a triumph from the expert music and production design to the nearly seamless effects. And scenes of quiet intimacy are staged with the same care as the mammoth battle sequences, which keep shifting gears and escalating until we are nearly overwhelmed ... and yet they're always coherent and meaningful. The themes are so resonant that they hit us deeply, as do the interpersonal dramas among the characters. The idea that even the tiniest people can change the world, as long as they work together, is pure inspiration. Quite simply, we never want the film to end! And for a while we think it might not, as Jackson wedges in several codas, epilogues, false conclusions and postscripts, most of which are a little too sweet after the raging power of the story's devastating climax. But they also let us say farewell to characters in just three years that have secured a place both in movie history and in our hearts. |
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| (Rich Cline, Shadows on the Wall) |
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| It's not often that you get to use words like 'vision' and 'genius' with modern film directors, but Jackson is worthy of the highest praise imaginable for bringing the trilogy to the screen. Himself a huge, self-confessed Tolkein Geek, his unadulterated passion, energy and commitment to the project have ensured the films' success. Reportedly, he has expressed an interest in filming The Hobbit. Let's hope it's true. |
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| (Matthew Turner, ViewLondon) |
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| Best film of the year... masterpiece... Fantastic battle sequences... stunning. |
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| (Baz Bamigboye, Daily Mail) |
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| McKellen commands each and every scene in which he appears, and his relationship with Pippin, brilliantly played by Billy Boyd, is funny, moving and delicately balanced... The Return of the King is every bit the ending I had dreamed of. It is as much a study of friendship as an action blockbuster. |
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| (Tom Parker-Bowles, Mail on Sunday) |
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| More than three hours of cinema unprecedented in its visual grandeur and savage power to thrill… This is not Citizen Kane, nor did Jackson ever dream it to be. But for a whole new generation, this will be their Star Wars, their Gone With The Wind, their Wizard of Oz, all rolled into one…. Yes, The Return of the King is really that great. |
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| (John Harlow, Sunday Times) |
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| Truly, masterly, jaw-dropping. |
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| (Jenny McCartney, Sunday Telegraph) |
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| Without doubt the best film in the series: more exciting, better acted and, best of all and quite unexpectedly, it achieves something that neither of its predecessors managed - it packs a powerful emotional punch. |
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| (Matthew Bond, Mail on Sunday) |
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| Jackson has made fantasy become reality. |
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| (John Hiscock, Daily Telegraph) |
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| Majestic, moving and immense... about as awesome as cinema gets. |
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| (Nev Pierce. BBCi) |
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| A very fine achievement, moving, involving and, to many people, even inspiring. It redeems the debased cinematic notion of the epic. |
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| (Philip French, Observer) |
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Gandalf: Ian McKellen 
