A brief entry on "Return of the King"

OK, if you're like me, you've read all the reviews that say things like how this is the greatest movie of all time, an epic cinematic achievement, way way better than the first two (and they were pretty damn good to start with) and so forth. Do yourself a favor and lower your expectations. It's good, but it's at about the level of good you've come to expect based on the first two movies. I mean, with the first one, we didn't know what to expect, and it turned out to be way good. With the second, we were still a little cautious -- wondering whether Peter Jackson was a one-hit wonder who just got really lucky with "Fellowship" -- and he proved that was not the case. So, based on the track record, you can pretty much approach "Return of the King" confident that there will be good solid filmmaking going on, with the occasional extremely spiffy effect (and also the occasional less-than-spiffy one). Just go with that -- don't let anyone raise your expectations beyond that or you'll be disappointed.

One other random thought -- given the relatively huge cast of male characters in this picture, there is a rather significant list of "Lord of the Rings Characters I Wouldn't Mind Seeing Shirtless." Gotta say that the one who ends up with a little chest screen time did not make the list. Phbbbt.