(Nota bene: this review relates to the extended edition of the movie. Though I’ve once seen the theatrical editions of the The Lord of the Rings trilogy, the extended editions always have my preference, as I’ve seen them more times than I can count.)

As I’ve also stated in the Collection post: I absolutely love these movies. The writing, the acting, the music, the cinematography, the art and the landscapes, the lack of toxic masculanity; everything is simply magnificent.

All in all, The Return of the King might be my least favourite installment in this trilogy, because it’s dominated by a lot of fighting and battle scenes. On the other hand, some of my absolutely favourite moments are inherently bound to these same scenes, so I’m not really complaining. It’s impressive how Peter Jackson managed to make all these scenes aesthetically pleasing, while at the same time maintaining J.R.R Tolkien’s anti-war sentiments. Yes, at times fighting can have a noble cause, but bloodshed knows no beauty. Special kudos to Bernard Hill, Miranda Otto and Karl Urban for excellently demonstrating this specific side of the story.

Remarkable enough, I have no problems whatsoever with the main complaint many have with The Return of the King, namely its long ending (or rather, the fact that it has several). By now you’ll have spent enough time with these characters that a proper send-off is well-earned.

The Return of the King is an epic conclusion to an epic story, and honestly I’m quite excited to rewatch this trilogy soon!