Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

MPAA Rating: PG-13

Entertainment: +4

Content: -2

It has come down to the final battle in this movie trilogy of epic magnitude. The fate of Middle-Earth will be decided. As the legions of evil are forming alliances to eliminate the race of men, the kingdom of Gondor is threatened and the people of Gondor need their king back. Gandalf (Ian McKellen) rallies Gondors army to action and receives aid from the army of Rohan, led by King Theoden (Bernard Hill). Although no match for their enemies, they are determined to stand their ground and distract Sauron so that the hobbits can complete their mission. Frodo (Elijah Wood), the Ring Bearer, and Sam (Sean Astin) continue their journey to the evil land of Mordor to destroy the ring, encountering treacherous paths and danger everywhere. But their biggest threat is their guide, Gollum (Andy Serkis), who desperately wants possession of the ring as he leads them to the heart of Mount Doom. Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen), Legolas (Orlando Bloom) and Gimli (John Rhys-Davies) continue to strengthen the effort from a distance.

The hobbits are in the limelight in this film, the final story in the trilogy written by J.R.R. Tolkien. Director Peter Jackson entwines battle scenes with intense emotional scenes and tops them off with great cinematic effects, arguably making this the best of the three films. It is a thrill ride that will not disappoint the truest of Tolkien fans. Although all of the actors deserve recognition, Sean Astin stands out in his portrayal of Frodos devoted friend Sam. This is a terrific story of good winning over evil with the basic themes of friendship and love at the core. But as great as this movie is, there are some cautions for parents. It contains many battle scenes that include stabbings with spears, decapitations and the like. It also has some frightening scenes for younger children: a demonic-looking creature, giant winged beasts, demonic-type voices, a giant spider attack, and a man who tries to burn his son to death.

Preview Reviewer: Lynn Nusser
Distributor: New Line Cinema

Summary
The following categories contain objective listings of film content which contribute to the subjective numeric Content ratings posted to the left and on the Home page.

Crude Language: None

Obscene Language: None

Profanity: None

Violence: Many times (intense battle scenes that contain decapitations and stabbings, a murder in the beginning of the movie that happens as a result of two friends fighting over the ring, a characters finger is bitten off by another character, a giant spider bites a character while another character does battle with the spider, a man tries to burn his son to death)

Sex: None

Nudity: None

Sexual Dialogue/Gesture: None

Drugs: Few times (characters drinking alcohol and smoking pipes)

Other: Character changes into a demonic-like creature after he commits murder, character eats live fish and has conversations with himself, a wizard appears to bring a character back to life, an army is made up of spirits of the dead. Positive thoughts: theme of friendship and love throughout the movie, a wizard says that death is just another path that we all must pass through and refers to a wonderful place after death but does not call it heaven.

Running Time: 210 minutes
Intended Audience: 12 and up

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