The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

Director: Peter Jackson

Starring: Elijah Wood, Ian McKellan, Viggo Mortensen, Sean Austin, Andy Serkis, Bernard Hill, Miranda Otto, Karl Urban, David Wenham, John Noble, Jonathon Rhys-Davies, Hugo Weaving, Liv Tyler, Cate Blanchett, Marton Csokas, Orlando Bloom, Dominic Monaghan, Billy Boyd, Ian Holm

Distributed By: New Line Cinema

Release Date: December 2003

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The Return of the King is quite simply movie perfection and is my favourite in the trilogy.
I love that Andy Serkis has a chance to be seen as Smeagol remembers how the ring came to him.
Miranda Otto's Eowyn shines as she completely falls for Aragorn and then steps up and plays a vital role in the battle at Gondor.
Gollum's treachery is deliciously deceitful as he plays up to Frodo and helps to push Sam away and then leads Frodo to Shelob's lair which is one of the most impressive scenes on film.
I'm also really glad that they fleshed out Arwen's role for this last part and her fate being tied to the ring makes Aragorn's choices even more difficult. Every character is faced with challenges and there's so much to enjoy.
The contrast between Theoden and Denethor is brilliant and John Noble totally nails Denethor's descent into madness!
Elijah Wood gives his heart and soul to Frodo and it's so wonderful to follow him on this journey, but of course the background hero of this movie is "Samwise the brave". Sean Astin gives Sam courage, bravery and loyalty and I love seeing each member of the fellowship being so true to each other.
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy is, in my view one of the best movie franchises ever made and I can't imagine my life without these movies!
A true labour of love for Peter Jackson, his team and cast, they have given the world hours of cinematic enjoyment that I for one will never tire of.
A truly magical film, one ring really does rule them all!
~~Nikki~~