This film was really awesome!! Very epic and brilliant, but perhaps it isn't wise for little kids to watch it, unless they can handle seeing some gore and icky-looking orcs. The story line was very good, specially since it's based on a great book trilogy. I think those who plan to watch this film, should watch all 3 movies instead-because seeing it all gives more magic and brilliance to the whole thing. I highly recommend this film, among the entire trilogy, because it would blow your brains out! Every one acted really well, and the directing of Peter Jackson was very well done. I give it 5 stars all in all, but I must warn again about some gore.
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The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
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Is it age appropriate?
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Not age appropriate for kids under 10, age appropriate for kids over 12; suggested age 12. -
Is it any good?
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Common Sense says
Outstanding, but much violence and scariness.
updated 03.04.09
Why We Rated This 
for Ages 12 and Up
The good stuff
What to watch out for
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Violence :
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Sex :
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Language:
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Consumerism:
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Drinking, drugs, & smoking:
What Parents Need to Know
About The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Parents need to know that this movie has intense and graphic battle violence on par with the other movies. Characters are frightening and if your kids can't handle suspense, these movies aren't for them. A strength of the movie is the way its diverse characters learn to trust each other and work together. Some critics have accused the original books of racism, with dark-skinned, slant-eyed bad guys fighting pale-skinned good guys, but there is no evidence of this here.
Read our full review by Nell Minow
Families Can Talk About
- Families can talk about why they think Frodo was charged with carrying the ring. You also might want to talk about the modern day parallels to the Fellowship stories since Tolkien wrote the books as parables.
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Our Members Say
See all 75 member reviews
Most Recent Reviews
Lives inI rate this title iffy for age 12 and give itMy concerns are:- Excessive violence
Epic, Brilliant and all other words to describe an awesome film!
- Lives in CaliforniaI rate this title on for age 10 and give itMy concerns are:
- Excessive violence
Awesome!!!!!!!
The Lord of the Rings are the best books I've ever read, and while the movies cut a lot out and gave different personnas to characters, they ROCK!!! I love them!!! As long as you can handle a little violence, I definitely recommend them!!!
- Lives in TexasI rate this title iffy for age 16 and give itMy concerns are:
- Excessive violence
CONATINS STRONG GRAPHIC VIOLENCE AND DISTURBING IMAGES
This has to be the best film I have ever seen. It also happens to be WAY to violent for a PG-13, much more than the others. CONTAINS SPOILERS: Gollum slowly chokes Deagol, about 30 seconds; (Saruman is stabbed twice, then falls hundreds of feet and lands on a pike, spraying blood everywhere; his murderer is shot by an arrow); Sam beats Gollum over the head with a frying pan, blood oozes out; (a man is shot by an arrow, then rolls down a flight of stairs); a large battle follows, hundreds die, Nazgul lift up soldiers and smash them against walls; a man is mortally wounded, he is coughing up blood when Gothmog takes a spear and smashes it brutally into his chest (not shown, but the tearing flesh and dripping blood sound and the man's gagging and sputtering is just as bad); hundreds are slaughtered on a suicide mission; the largest movie battle of all time begins, contains bloody violence throughout; severed, mutilated, gory heads fly over the wall; (a man is shot); trolls smash men into pieces; Frodo is stabbed, he foams at the mouth; Sam stabs Shelob, drenching his hands in blood; orcs eat alive men (and even women and children), very graphic and disturbing; a massive cavalry charge, the largest ever captured on film, decimates an entire army; a man burns himself alive, and jumps of a thousand foot cliff while on fire; Theoden is ripped in half when the Witch King throws his horse on top of him; his beast is slaughtered by Eowyn, blood and gore splatter everywhere; Eowyn suffers a bloody wound; (Gothmog gets mained 4-5 times before getting axed to death) all the orcs and there allies are wiped out, millions are dead after the battle, the field littered with blood and body parts; the orcs in the tower all kill themselves (in graphic yet creative ways); (Frodo is brutally whipped); another gigantic battle occurs; tens of thousands are killed in a giant earthquake; Gollum bites Sam on the neck and nearly kills Frodo by choking him, Sam slices his gut, Gollum knocks out Sam and bites Frodo's finger off, TONS of blood comes out; he later melts in Mount Doom along with the One Ring. PHEW! Other than that, its an awesome, incredible film that everyone should watch!
- Lives inI rate this title iffy for age 15 and give it
Violent, brutal and scary.
- Lives in GeorgiaI rate this title on for age 10 and give itMy concerns are:
- Excessive violence
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Ratings at a Glance
| 86% | of parents say it's too violent |
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For Your Family
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