The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) movie poster

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)

"The eye of the enemy is moving."
ThumbScore
👍 85%Google users liked it ⓘ
Critics Score
🎬 94%
AdventureFantasyAction

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Where to Watch

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Director
Runtime
3h 21m
Rated
PG-13
Country
New Zealand, United States of America
Language
English
TMDB Rating
8.5/10 (26,174 votes)
Rotten Tomatoes
94%
Metacritic
94

Cast

Elijah Wood as Frodo · 70% avg
Ian McKellen as Gandalf · 72% avg
Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn · 74% avg
Sean Astin as Sam · 73% avg
Andy Serkis as Gollum / Smeagol · 73% avg
Dominic Monaghan as Merry · 68% avg
Billy Boyd as Pippin · 80% avg
John Noble as Denethor

Is The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King good?

Yes. 85% of real audiences liked it, by Google's archived audience score. Critics agree, scoring it 94%.

Where it ranks on ThumbScore

Rank in its genre
#241 / 1446 · Adventure
Rank in its year
#40 / 149 · 2003
Rank among its director's films
#4 / 13 · Peter Jackson

By audience score, among films with 500 or more votes.

Overview

As armies mass for a final battle that will decide the fate of the world--and powerful, ancient forces of Light and Dark compete to determine the outcome--one member of the Fellowship of the Ring is revealed as the noble heir to the throne of the Kings of Men. Yet, the sole hope for triumph over evil lies with a brave hobbit, Frodo, who, accompanied by his loyal friend Sam and the hideous, wretched Gollum, ventures deep into the very dark heart of Mordor on his seemingly impossible quest to destroy the Ring of Power. Wikipedia ↗

About the Film

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is a 2003 epic fantasy film directed by Peter Jackson, the concluding chapter of his acclaimed adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's literary masterpiece. The film follows multiple storylines to their climactic resolutions: Frodo and Sam make their final harrowing approach to Mount Doom to destroy the One Ring while resisting its overwhelming corrupting influence, Aragorn embraces his destiny as the rightful King of Gondor and leads the forces of Men against Sauron's armies, and the people of Middle-earth make their desperate last stand at the Battle of the Pelennor Fields and the Black Gate of Mordor.

The Return of the King became one of the most honored films in Academy Award history, winning all 11 Oscars for which it was nominated — tying the record held by Ben-Hur and Titanic. The film earned $1.14 billion worldwide. Peter Jackson's battle sequences, particularly the Siege of Minas Tirith, set new standards for digital effects and large-scale action filmmaking.

The film's extended edition, running 263 minutes, is widely considered the definitive version and became a cultural event in home video. The trilogy as a whole is frequently cited as one of the greatest achievements in cinema, having transformed public perception of fantasy from a niche genre into mainstream epic entertainment.

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