Being someone who hasn't read the books or being a person who wasn't especially swept away by the first two movies (at the time of their original release), to say I was a Lord of the Rings fan, would be a big fat lie. However I can not deny the shear brilliance for which the trilogy is, and as a result haven't got enough praise for this, the final movie, or of course, for both of the other parts. The final chapter, in what has been one of the most breathtaking three years ever to have existed in western cinema, sees Peter Jackson, all the elves, dwarfs, men, hobbits, wizards and all those rather ugly looking trolls, fully accounted for, with the ring, as expected, still dangerously close to falling into smeagley hands. So the scenes are set, the characters are in their positions, but who's missing? ah yes Saraman, who sadly to say, is actually A.W.O.L for the entire duration. All moaning Christopher Lee fans to one side though, there is nothing bad you could really say against a movie like this, a movie that is just packed to the fellowship with great heart, great fighting and great one-liners thrown masterfully in when you least expect them. 'The Return of the King' is just fabulous to look at, with no loss of visual va va voom when compared to that of the first two films, so everything still looks oh so enchanting. From start to finish the epic story runs its course in the only way it knows how, stylishly, lavishly and more importantly, bravely. For which by the end of it all, you'll be so fulfilled, any film you go to see after this one, even if it's a week or two down the line, will seem like a completely substandard form of entertainment. 'The Return of the King' quickly makes up for any dilly dallying the 'Two Towers' might have been guilty of, but not only that, it concludes the story with the same quality and finesse that the whole saga began with. A perfect book end conclusion to a fantastic period in cinema history. 'nough said.

5/5