Every Peter Jackson Film Ranked Worst To Best

Despite winning eleven Oscars, as well as three for Peter Jackson, the concluding chapter to Jackson's spotless fantasy epic has more weaknesses than the other two films in the trilogy. What The Return of the King is slightly let down by is the weirdly sudden end to the final battle, and the script's slight over-reliance of expositionary dialogue.

Of course, these are very minor scruples, as Return of the King really is a remarkable end to perhaps the greatest film trilogy of all time. The way the film moves between characters and sub-plots is phenomenal, as is the acting of principal stars Viggo Mortensen, Ian McKellen, Elijah Wood, Sean Astin and, best of all, Andy Serkis.

The visuals, too, are insane, and even today hold up throughout the film. Also, who can argue with that ending? Some might find it too long for its own good, but given how epic the tale had been up until those final moments, it wouldn't have been fair on the narrative to end any earlier. It's epic, slow-burning, action-packed, near-perfect - and still isn't the best film Jackson has ever done.