A masterpiece, even with the changes from the book - The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Reviews

If you were to ask me, I would probably say I am more of a Tolkien 'purist' than an obsessive movie fan, but that's only if I couldn't be both, which I definitly am. And I think that's the best combination, because I can love the Lord of the Rings movies, but still see why the books outshine them. Return of the King was nothing short of awesome. And with it being the best ((in my opinion)) book in the trilogy, how could it not be? Even with some changes from the book, there are very few flaws I am able to find with this magnificent closing of an epic movie trilogy. Of course I was disappointed when Christopher Lee did not appear in the movie, as that man is amazing, and has inspired me to read the trilogy every year, but I know that he'll be there in the Extended Edition, which of course I'm getting. The other major change was the fact that the hobbits never really went back to save the Shire. They just went back... and all was good. I had heard about this before the movie was release, and was somewhat worried, but I found that it really didn't bother me much at all, I was too intertwined with what was happening to give it much a care. There were a few other minor changes, both additions and subtractions, but I feel they were all made to benefit the movie, whether it be to save time ((after all, 3 hours and 20 minutes is quite a long time, especially at the midnight show)), or to add a bit of artistic detail, such as the lighting of the beacons all throughout the land from Gondor to Rohan, a sequence of shots that was spectacular. I am truly amazed by how amazing of a job Peter Jackson and all the hundreds of people who worked to create these masterpieces did. They have brought the best fantasy book in the world to life on the big screen, and while it will never replace the feeling of opening to the first page of 'The Fellowship of the Ring' and entering Tolkien's fantastic land of Middle-earth, it comes pretty damn close.