Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King

Year: 2003

Grade: B+

Country: New Zealand

Director: Jackson

Review

the extended version is absurdly long (4hrs 15 minutes) and it seems to meander and ruminate too much on battle scenes or little moments. i had only seen this once in the theater, but this viewing confirms that it’s the worst of the trilogy. in rewatching them with my cousin i’d have to say that each one gets a little worse than the former. it’s certainly not a bad film and the first two weren’t short by any means, but this one takes the length to an absurd level in my opinion.

the ending feels anti-climatic, though i suppose anything would after 11+ hours of build-up. this one got all the oscars because the previous two didn’t, not because this is the one that actually deserved all the praise. as a trilogy this is in must-view territory, unfortunately this final installment doesn’t quite rise to that level. i’d like to rewatch the neverending story because it has so many similar elements in a tighter package.