The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

Reviewed by:
Paul Ulane

Now this is how you end a trilogy. Instead of convoluting a carefully crafted story around a mindless fluster of special effects (down in front, Keanu), Return of the King dives sword-first into the ultimate battle between comically mismatched foes good and evil for a 3-hour, 20-minute send-off that exploits every minute of its butt-cheek-numbing running time.

We pick up with Frodo (Elijah Wood) and Sam (Sean Astin) following Gollum’s devious lead into the mountains while the rest of the gang—Gandalf (Ian McKellen), Aragorn (Viggo Mortenson), Legolas (Orlando Bloom), and an assortment of other warrior friends—toils around the mainland, fending for humankind. The ring inches closer to its final destination and the action builds to an all-consuming fury as we ride along with Aragorn, pumping up his warriors with roaring pep talks on their way into each new battle. Before you can even ponder a bathroom break, the giant elephants stomp through, followed overhead by flying lizards—and even later by a gargantuan, hobbit-hungry spider. Director Peter Jackson’s sweeping landscapes aren’t lost in all the action, only this time they’re filled with violent rampages that put the standoffs of The Two Towers to shame. Geeks will well up, bookworms will finally leave their houses—hell, your “girlfriend from Canada” might even show; this ring is that powerful.