The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Reviews
Top CriticSome story strands are crudely abbreviated; others fail to develop elements that were already well-established.
Like all the other installments in the saga, The Return of the King is part of a good movie, but only mediocre on its own, full of awkward pauses and redundancies.
Sci-Fi Movie Page
Overlong, takes itself way too seriously and a case of much ado about nothing . . .
Film Threat
Eye-candy and grand events with no real substance.
Full Review
| Original Score: 2/5
Boulder Weekly
Almost nothing in this ultimate J.R.R. Tolkien episode rings true, least of all its empty spectacle of digital effects. The sum total is Two Towers and more of babel.
Worcester Telegram & Gazette
In spite of the fact that the film will likely bust box office records, this reviewer is duty bound to report that it fails in almost every aspect.
Full Review
| Original Score: 2/5
Eclipse Magazine
Is a seriously flawed piece of work that is missing that certain element called "believability." It's visual eye candy without the chocolate center.
Full Review
| Original Score: C
F5 (Wichita, KS)
When we talk about Jackson's directorial style, what exactly are we talking about? The ability to juggle a production this size is a feat, but what else does he bring to it?
Full Review
| Original Score: 2.5/5
San Diego Metropolitan
Take earplugs, food, maybe even No-doze if you plan a last foray to Middle-earth.
Film Freak Central
An incurable film until such time as Peter Jackson is moved to shorten its deadening coda
Full Review
| Original Score: 2.5/4
Christian Science Monitor
An uneven movie with yawns aplenty.
Full Review
| Original Score: 2/4
San Diego Union-Tribune
I was more impressed by the first chapters, The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers, on DVD than I was in theaters .... Back in a multiplex for No. 3, I felt blitz-bombed again.
Nitrate Online
The bad guys are, as usual, marked by incessant ugliness and vague non-whiteness.
PopMatters
It is precisely Jackson's pandering to fans' expectations that repeatedly drags The Return of the King to a halt.
Flix Capacitor
Rousing, satisfying and awe-inspiring, The Return Of The King provides a worthy conclusion to what is both an incredible cinematic achievement and the finest fantasy filmmaking ever to grace our screens.
Full Review
| Original Score: 5/5
Las Vegas Weekly
King is ... the final touch of an undeniable masterwork.
Full Review
| Original Score: 4.5/5
Entertainment Insiders
This is a glorious film and I gave my entire self to it whole-heartedly without reservation.
Full Review
| Original Score: 4/4
The thrilling conclusion to what has become the film event of our time -- the definitive screen fantasy -- features more spellbinding moments, bigger battles, more emotion and more poetry than the terrific first two films in the trilogy.
Full Review
| Original Score: 4/5
Zertinet Movies
Here, in scenes of quiet emotion, devastating violence, sweeping chaos and tranquil hope,is a profound conclusion to an unforgettable trilogy-the best American trilogy ever made.
Full Review
| Original Score: 4/4
Birmingham Mail
When I met the barefooted scruff [Peter Jackson] two years ago, he regretted he'd never been to Birmingham to see Tolkien's inspirations at first hand.
Full Review
| Original Score: 5/5
