2. The One Ring Is Destroyed - The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
The sense of weight that Peter Jackson brilliantly puts on his characters, hobbits Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee, as they climb towards the destination that we've been following them towards for the length of almost three motion pictures, is an achievement in itself. As our heroes clamber to the top of the Mount Doom, the fire raging around them, Howard Shore's epic, emotional score piled on top, we feel just as drained as them. After battling the devious, tragic Gollum, and wrestling with his own entire desires, Frodo finally lets go of the ring, and - after so long - watching it burn up in the lava below grants a feeling of satisfaction quite unlike any other. The sense of relief isn't just tied to Frodo and Sam; we feel like we made the journey from Hobbiton to Mordor, too. "It's over," laments Sam as the pair make their way down the mountain. And it really is - thanks for the ride, Peter Jackson.