5. The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King (2003)
The final part of Peter Jackson's "how the hell did he managed to pull it off?" trilogy is nowhere near as brilliantly paced as the first chapter, nor as successful in its attempts at slow-burning storytelling as the second: what it lacks in those departments, however, it makes up for in pure, unbridled visual splendor and unparalleled action sequences unlike anybody had ever seen before. As we join Frodo and Sam on the last - and therefore toughest - stage of their epic journey, Aragorn and company must meanwhile fend off several huge armies of darkness. And it's the large scale battles, rendered through a seamless combination of CGI effects, practical effects and makeup effects, that everybody remembers about this movie. That said, despite the expensive action sequences (one of which runs at a hefty 40 minutes), the Return of the King builds to a truly sensational finale that feels totally and utterly earned after we've spent 8 hours in the company of the Fellowship. If we feel exhausted as Frodo and Sam scale Mount Doom, it's in the best possible way - a credit to the immersion of these pictures.
Sam Hill is an ardent cinephile and has been writing about film professionally since 2008. He harbours a particular fondness for western and sci-fi movies.
