7. The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King
The Return of the King is one of the very few blockbuster movies to resonate with audiences, critics and awards voters as it grossed over $1 billion, received consensus acclaim and won all of the 11 Academy Awards it was nominated for. It rounded off Peter Jackson's epic and beloved adaptation of JRR Tolkien's often deemed unfilmable novels in emphatic style with its gigantic final battle. Despite what the fanboys say, the film is much more flawed than the previous two as it is far too long, drags endlessly in some places, has copious amounts of exposition and is still haunted by bad performances from Elijah Wood, Sean Astin and Orlando Bloom. Thank God for Viggo Mortensen, Ian McKellan and Andy Serkis. Despite the flaws listed, it wouldn't be on this list if it didn't have substantial merit. It's an epic of an experience to watch The Return of the King as at times you get swept along with its grand scale and beautiful scenery. Jackson's love of the source material is obvious and well-documented, and whilst it hinders the films to a degree, they needed someone who appreciated them like he did to get them made in the fashion they were.