Lord Of The Rings, The: The Return Of The King—Extended Edition

Finishing what The Fellowship Of The Rings and The Two Towers started, The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King finalizes the epic tale of a hobbit's journey to save Middle-earth from evil. The Return Of The King swept the 76th Academy Awards®, winning in every category in which it was nominated, including Best Picture (a feat in itself, being the first-ever film in the fantasy genre to win). As The Two Towers wrapped up, the dissociative creature Smeagol/Gollum (Serkis) had revealed his intent to betray Frodo (Wood) and Sam (Astin). As the three make their way toward Mordor, he leads them up the stairs of Cirith Ungol to a great and terrifying uncertainty. As Isildur's true heir, Aragorn (Mortensen) ventures into the Paths Of The Dead to enlist the help of thousands of cursed souls who had not fulfilled their oath to fight against Sauron with Isildur. Along with Gandalf The White (McKellen), Gimli (Rhys-Davies), and Legolas (Bloom), Aragorn leads the last of the great men of Gondor and Rohan against the looming enemy forces. And as fate lays in the hands of a halfling from The Shire, the battle of good versus evil rages on. But you can be sure that, by the final (final!) end of the movie, everyone has hugged. (Suzanne Hodges)