To say that this is an epic movie might be an undestatement, especially in a time when movies such as Armageddon, Independence Day, and The Hulk are considered to be “epic” movies. True epic movies, you see, have not only bombast and pomp but also portend Great Importance. An epic movie is one that establishes a tone of deep meaning, not harmless fluff.

And so it is with all three of the Lord of the Rings movies. In The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), we learn of a bad of nine travelers with the task of returning the One Ring to the fires of Mount Doom, from which the adornment was made. In The Two Towers (2002), we follow their travails as some of the members split up, with returning the ring still the ultimate goal. Now, with The Return of the King, we see their tales told in full. Will Frodo and Sam make it to Mount Doom, past the gigantic army of orcs, without the Lidless Eye spotting them? Will Aragorn (the King of the title) be able to rally enough troops to forestall the orc attacks? Will any of the original Fellowship fall along the way, to be forgotten except in hobbit songs evermore?

The story thread picks up right where The Two Towers left off. Frodo (bearing the ring) and Sam are now separated from the rest of their crew and are on a singular mission to return the ring to its foundry. With them is Gollum, a former hobbit whose long possession of the One Ring has driven him completely mad and has transformed his appearance into that of some underground netherworld creature, rather than a jolly hobbit.

Meanwhile, Gandalf, Aragorn, Gimli, and Leglolas arrive at Orthanc, the tower formerly held by Saruman (the evil wizard). Saruman’s been deposed by the Ents, a race of sentient trees headed by Treebeard. With Treebeard are two more of the original Fellowship: the hobbits Merry and Pippin.

Doom is approaching. Sauron’s minions are assembling massive orc armies to overrun the entire area, hoping to bring about the end of the Age of Man. It’s up to Aragorn and the gang to save the day.

Each of the three movies has been an absolute joy to watch. Even if one has never read one word of J.R.R. Tolkien, one is very quickly drawn into the story, into the world of Middle-Earth. Even if one cannot tell an orc from a Balrog, one can follow the sometimes complicated storylines. This is because director Peter Jackson does an incredible job of explaining things without getting bogged down in the myriad details that Tolkien’s epic book (or books) provided.

As with most epic movies, this one grabs you in two distinct places: the heart and the mind. The audience is properly mesmerized as the soldiers of Gondar race to the aid of those of Rohan, as the orc legions attack the castle at Minas Trith. All of the scenes, from the quiet, underplayed exchanges between Sam and Frodo to the wild, chaotic war, were suitably jam-packed with emotion. You’d have to be quite the zombie not to fall completely under the spell of these movies, especially these characters.

While Jackson took a few liberties with the plot (as he did in The Two Towers), none of the changes detracted from the movie itself. Because Tolkien’s fantasy epic was so chock full of nuance, it was inherently necessary to chop some of them from the movie. Film as a medium is more conducive to images than to facts and other details.

This was not a movie that one could simply watch and cheer the good guys on lustily. This movie drew one in so deeply that you lived and breathed as the characters lived and breathed. When Frodo is attacked by the spider Shelob, you jump with him. You feel it when he’s injected with her poison. When the orcs are attacking the castle with their war machines and their oliphaunts (think mastadons), you cringe with the denizens of the city of kings. As an audience, you never feel detached from the action.

But in addition to all the mesmerizing, eye-popping action, there were a great many tearful scenes. I mean scenes so powerful that only the most robotic among us could look away without shedding a tear. There were plenty of sniffles and tears in our theater the other day. Fantastic evocatic performances by everyone in the cast, especially Sean Astin as Sam, Billy Boyd as Pippin, David Wenham as Faramir, Hugo Weaving as Elrond, and Miranda Otto as Eowyn. Oh, and definitely the great Ian McKellen as Gandalf.

Not a dry eye in the place. The sweet, gentle ending was as poignant an ending as I’ve ever seen in a movie. The ending, by the way, ties everything up nicely – but not too nicely. And, it’s important to note, it ends just as the book does.

The movie is as close to perfection as possible, with the two tales of Frodo and Sam and the orc attacks neatly dovetailing, then culminating at the same time. And the editing is never jarring, even though quite a bit had to be cut in order for the film to be released – and it’s still nearly 3.5 hours long!

The Return of the King is a beautiful masterpiece, a pinnacle of moviemaking. It will certainly be up for a few Oscars come March, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it were listed in the National Film Registry some year as one of the greatest American films of all time.

Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King: ****