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OFCS Rating: 95% Fresh |
|
2.5/4 | "An incurable film until such time as Peter Jackson is moved to shorten its deadening coda" |
| Film Freak Central |
| Bill Chambers |
4/5 | "If you can make it through the slow parts, Return of the King rewards the patient with the most heart-pounding action of the year." |
| Filmcritic.com |
| Christopher Null |
A | "All hail to the King." |
| ColeSmithey.com |
| Cole Smithey |
| "The bad guys are, as usual, marked by incessant ugliness and vague non-whiteness." |
| Nitrate Online |
| Cynthia Fuchs |
91/100 | "Captures the visual grandeur and thematic complexities of the novel well, while moving gracefully from moments of the intensely personal to epic scenes of staggering enormity." |
| Apollo Guide |
| Dan Jardine |
A | "Adheres to the values of its predecessors – it's brilliant, passionate filmmaking... even if it goes on far too long." |
| EDGE Boston |
| David Foucher |
4/4 | "The movie truly is the most amazing visual spectacle ever seen on celluloid." |
| Cinemaphile.org |
| David Keyes |
3/4 | "Marred, somewhat, by overlength, occasional silliness, and cloying characters, LOTR3 is nevertheless a technical marvel... and a fitting end to a one-of-a-kind series." |
| Movie Boeuf |
| David N. Butterworth |
3/4 | "The movie's refusal to end will likely test the patience of even the most ardent Lord of the Rings fan, and it's a shame that the series ends on such a flat note." |
| Reel Film Reviews |
| David Nusair |
B+ | "A sight for awe-struck eyes." |
| Ozus' World Movie Reviews |
| Dennis Schwartz |
3.5/4 | "To say that The Return of the King is this already-classic trilogy's paramount achievement is to understate things.
" |
| DustinPutman.com |
| Dustin Putman |
3.5/4 | "More goose-pimply epic swirl and top-notch Uruk-hai smackdowns, but there’s also more of the dreamy Christian allegory that highlighted the first film." |
| Slant Magazine |
| Ed Gonzalez |
| "Como parte de una trilogía mantiene el nivel de las anteriores. Pero como película individual, algo le está faltando. O más bien, sobrando. O las dos cosas..." |
| Uruguay Total |
| Enrique Buchichio |
A | "This is a trilogy to be treasured, and the final chapter is a fitting capstone." |
| EricDSnider.com |
| Eric D. Snider |
4/4 | "Epic filmmaking in the achievement scales of Ben-Hur, Gone with the Wind and Lawrence of Arabia." |
| eFilmCritic.com |
| Erik Childress |
A+ | "The Return of the King runs for 200 minutes, and I estimate that I cried for 195 of them, give or take two, including through most of the end credits." |
| Film Blather |
| Eugene Novikov |
4/4 | "masterfully compelling...inherently grand, vibrant, inviting and whimsically overwhelming...packs an urgent sense of vitality into this third installment...purely magnetic" |
| Movie Eye |
| Frank Ochieng |
A | "A masterful conclusion to a magnificent series, the cinematic trilogy against which all others must now be judged--a trio of films of astonishing vision and accomplishment." |
| One Guy's Opinion |
| Frank Swietek |
A | "A dreamy marriage of myth and special effects, of great literature and popcorn entertainment." |
| Mixed Reviews |
| Gabriel Shanks |
4/4 | "An experience of epic scope and grandeur, amazing emotional power, and relentless momentum." |
| ReelViews |
| James Berardinelli |
4/4 | "Grandly epic in scale, yet deeply human in emotion ... a fitting capstone to one of modern cinema’s greatest gambles." |
| Q Network Film Desk |
| James Kendrick |
| "Overlong, takes itself way too seriously and a case of much ado about nothing . . .
" |
| Sci-Fi Movie Page |
| James O'Ehley |
5/5 | "The big-screen, big-everything adaptation of the 20th century's most powerful fantasy epic reaches a stunning finale." |
| Netflix |
| James Rocchi |
3.5/4 | "If this wasn't quite the best movie of 2003, it was definitely the most fun to be had at the movies all year" |
| Perihelion Journal |
| Jay Antani |
4/4 | "An immense achievement founded on the enduring themes of loyalty, destiny, and hope." |
| Palo Alto Weekly |
| Jeanne Aufmuth |
10/10 | "Conclude[s] a trilogy of movies upon which unprecendented expectations have been placed, and [does] it smoothly, gracefully, and powerfully." |
| Window to the Movies |
| Jeffrey Chen |
3.5/5 | "Ya gotta watch." |
| ToxicUniverse.com |
| Jeremiah Kipp |
6/10 | "A decent film, but overrated." |
| JoBlo's Movie Emporium |
| JoBlo |
4/4 | "This is a filmmaker in the grandest tradition of the word." |
| Big Picture Big Sound |
| Joe Lozito |
96/100 | "Peter Jackson and his team pull through once again and turn in the best film in a terrific trilogy." |
| FilmFocus |
| Joe Utichi |
A | "Jackson's virtuosity in handling the myriad challenges of such an epic production places him as the Cecil B. DeMille of the new millennium" |
| Old School Reviews |
| John A. Nesbit |
9/10 | "...battles are massive and special effects are astonishing, yet in the last analysis the story boils down to the very intimate portraits of a very small band of individuals." |
| DVDTown.com |
| John J. Puccio |
4/4 | "'Una obra maestra que se ha ganado un lugar como uno de los puntos más altos en la historia del cine. Gracias, señor Jackson, por habernos devuelto la capacidad de soñar'
" |
| Moviola |
| Jorge Avila Andrade |
4.5/5 | "There's a reason these are instant classics: good core story+skillful execution+ the sense of cohesion between the 3 chapters = satsfying movies." |
| Cinerina |
| Karina Montgomery |
4/4 | "... fans shouldn't mind seeing [multiple endings] since there will be no sequels for this timeless trilogy." |
| MovieCrypt.com |
| Kevin A. Ranson |
3.5/5 | "Still a good movie, but it's weak on plot compared to its predecessor." |
| Film Threat |
| Kevin Carr |
4/4 | "The most amazing thing about this cinematic journey, even more than the epic battles, is its overwhelming emotional sweep.
" |
| Montreal Film Journal |
| Kevin N. Laforest |
B+ | "McKellan and Astin are the two actors whose lifeblood pumps through this saga" |
| Reeling Reviews |
| Laura Clifford |
3.5/5 | "A spectacle of the first order." |
| TV Guide's Movie Guide |
| Maitland McDonagh |
4/4 | "Brings one word repeatedly to mind: overwhelming" |
| Mark Reviews Movies |
| Mark Dujsik |
+4 out of -4..+4 | " a spectacular
film of complex battles and breath-taking scenery" |
| rec.arts.movies.reviews |
| Mark R. Leeper |
3.5/4 | "Looking at the sum of its parts, The Lord of the Rings is probably the best trilogy ever made" |
| Movie Habit |
| Marty Mapes |
| "[M]ay well be the transcendent cinematic experience of our time..." |
| Flick Filosopher |
| MaryAnn Johanson |
4.5/5 | "Truly awe-inspiring. If it takes a while to get going, and seems to overstay its welcome with an overlong ending, I forgive it." |
| Goatdog's Movies |
| Michael W. Phillips, Jr. |
4/4 | "Now that the ending has been presented, I am able to look back and realize just what an extraordinary filmmaking accomplishment Lord of the Rings has been." |
| Aisle Seat |
| Mike McGranaghan |
A | "Take a moment to breathe a sigh of relief and satisfaction before this movie begins. It may be your last breath for the next three hours." |
| Movie Mom at Yahoo! Movies |
| Nell Minow |
A- | "Imbues its central conflicts with mythic timelessness." |
| Lessons of Darkness |
| Nick Schager |
5/5 | "É triste constatar que, a partir de agora, não mais teremos direito às nossas viagens anuais à Terra-média." |
| Cinema em Cena |
| Pablo Villaca |
3/4 | "Still a pretty stirring epic and is a worthy conclusion to the saga." |
| Critic Doctor |
| Peter Sobczynski |
5/5 | "So impeccably and artfully done that we can hardly breathe, immobilised by emotion, suspense, the sheer spectacle, the intimate drama." |
| Shadows on the Wall |
| Rich Cline |
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OFCS Rating: 95% Fresh |
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