Total Film
Don't worry that your expectations will be too high - Return Of The King will exceed them all.
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The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
The epic climax in the fantasy saga sees all races of Middle Earth, both good and evil, drawn into a war for domination. As Frodo and Sam inch ever closer to their fate in Mordor, Aragorn wrestles with his insecurities about claiming his rightful place as the King of Men.
2003Rating: M, for epic battle sequences and some scary images200 minsUSA, New Zealand
AdventureFantasyBlockbuster
- Director:
- Peter Jackson ('The Lord Of The Rings' trilogy, 'Bad Taste', 'Heavenly Creatures')
- Writer:
- Peter JacksonFran WalshPhilippa Boyens
- Cast:
- Elijah WoodIan McKellenViggo MortensenSean AstinMiranda OttoCate BlanchettBilly BoydDominic MonaghanOrlando BloomJohn Rhys-DaviesAndy SerkisKarl Urban
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King | Awards
Winner of 11 Oscars, including Best Picture, Director and Visual Effects at the Academy Awards 2004. Best Film (Drama), Golden Globes 2004. Best Film, BAFTA Awards 2004.
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King | Reviews
93%274 reviewsRotten Tomatoes® Score
All reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
The Times
The sense of closure is exquisite, but I'm not sure I'm able to forgive Peter Jackson for the three years that he has taken to put it on the screen. The wait has been excruciating.
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The Guardian
No flabber has been left ungasted by Mr Jackson's mighty battle sequences, nor no gob unsmacked.
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Wall Street Journal
Yes, the running time is long, and yes, those many endings in a slow, dreamy coda left me feeling spent - better spent than I can ever remember.
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Time Out
Some story strands are crudely abbreviated; others fail to develop elements that were already well-established.
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Rolling Stone
Pops your eyes, excites your senses and brings you in as close as a whisper for scenes of startling emotion.
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Salon
The final chapter... restores faith in the idea that popular entertainment can soar to majestic heights.
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The Globe and Mail
A movie for our time, perhaps for all time, mostly a good time and definitely a long time.
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San Francisco Chronicle
The Return of the King is, at its most visceral level, a grand adventure with lots of fun things to look at.
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New York Post
Towers above its predecessors with cleaner storytelling and a more satisfying balance between terrific acting and eye-popping effects.
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Hollywood Reporter
A breathtaking argument for director Peter Jackson winning every award there is to give...
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Entertainment Weekly
I can’t think of... another monumental work of sustained storytelling that surges ahead with so much inventiveness and ardor.
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Roger Ebert
The final battle is kind of magnificent. I found myself thinking of the visionary films of the silent era, like Lang ("Metropolis") and Murnau ("Faust"), with their desire to depict fantastic events of unimaginable size and power, and with their own cheerful reliance on visual trickery.
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Variety
A “King” that earns its crown, Peter Jackson’s final installment in his monumental “The Lord of the Rings” represents that filmmaking rarity — a third part of a trilogy that is decisively the best of the lot.
Full reviewThe Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King | Release Details
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is available to stream in Australia now on Stan and Netflix and Google Play and Apple TV and Foxtel and Binge and Ritz at Home and Prime Video Store and Paramount+.