The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King film review

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THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING

Now that Peter Jackson has completed the extraordinary feat of filming all three of Tolkien's Rings Trilogy, it's worth taking a moment to look at some of the statistics. Two years of pre-production were followed by a year of principal photography (most Hollywood movies are shot in under a month) and a further three years of post-production. A large cast was rounded out with 26,000 extras and hundreds of thousands of artefacts were especially created for the shoot. What's more, Jackson delivered the three films on time and we have no reason to suspect that they were not on budget. While many doubted the folly of such an ambitious production, the last laugh will be with those wise enough to have invested in the first place: even last year's second instalment The Two Towers took just under $1bn at the box office.

Beginning where The Two Towers left off, the third film makes the Battle of Helms Deep look like a minor Friday night scuffle. Fans who have been waiting a year to find out how it all unravels will not be disappointed, as Jackson not only cranks up the action to levels never seen on the big screen before, but also retains the human drama at the centre of the story.

As Frodo (Wood) and Sam (Astin) continue their journey to destroy the Ring, their consort Gollum (Serkis) is still caught between wanting the power of the Ring for himself and following his conscience. Inevitably the dark side gets the better of Gollum and his jealousy for the all-powerful Ring overwhelms him, not only jeopardizing Frodo and Sam's relationship but their very lives.

Unbeknownst to them, the battle to end all battles is about to change Middle Earth forever. Leading the defence is Gandalf, who comes to the White City of Minas Tirith only to find it in the care of an almost redundant steward Denethor (Noble). Realising that the combined forces of Sauron are about to attack at any moment, Gandalf enlists the help of King Rohan (Hill), his assorted men, and of course Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas.

What he doesn't prepare for is the fact that Sauron has sent an enormous army, not only consisting of the dreaded Orcs, but this time abetted by new enemies such as the Fell Beasts (enormous flying creatures) and Gondorians (mammoth-like people carriers), and led by a seemingly invincible Witch-King (think the Darth Vader of Middle Earth). Everything is about to hit the fan and Gandalf knows the chances of surviving are extremely slim.