The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is a magnificent epic that could not have been made any better even if Steven Spielberg was directing it instead of Peter Jackson. Elijah Wood gives a tour-de-force performance as Mister Frodo in the final film of this series and should receive his very first Oscar nomination. Sean Astin is brilliant as Sam and should also receive an Oscar nomination. The story itself has brought much more depth to its characters giving it a superior strength that makes it unstoppable for 3 hours and 21 minutes. Yet the real brilliance comes in the form of visual effects. Shelob looks absolutely realistic and absolutely brilliant. The Dead Soldiers look amazing in every sense of the word. The Battle of the Pelennor Fields is without a shadow of a doubt, the greatest battle ever put on the big screen, surpassing that of D-Day in Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan. Gollum is absolutely fantastic. The art direction is extraordinarily superb. The cinematography and editing of the picture is nothing short of brilliant. Viggo Mortenson gives a fine performance as does John Noble as Denethor, Ian McKellen as Gandalf, and Bernard Hill as King Theoden. Hugo Weaving (Elrond) is just as good as he was in Fellowship. Miranda Otto is nothing short of fantastic and stunning as Eowyn. What more can I say except that every aspect of this movie is brilliant and it will go down as one of the great movie classics. It shall win the Oscar for Best Picture without any competition from Anthony Minghella's Cold Mountain. Accolades to Peter Jackson for taking a literary masterpiece so grand in scale and turning it into a film masterpiece so grand in scale. He should and will win the Oscar for Best Director. The Lord of the Rings shall forever be a classic movie trilogy and will go down as one of the greatest stories ever told not just in the cinema but also in the world as well.
Lenny's Grade: A+
Lenny's Grade: A+