Absolutely brilliant...a stunning conclusion to a amazing trilogy. I never wanted it to end. That is the highest compliment I can give this movie. To me, the hero is Samwise Gamgee and Sean Astin gives an oscar-calibur performance. I only hope that the academy sees fit to give him his due. It is rare for a film to enrapture me...and this one has. It was worth staying up till 4:00am! I will see it again and again, I am sure. Yes, I am proudly an LOTR geek. I do have to add that I agree with Ninja Squirrel that Billy Boyd's performance was spectacular too. What a talented singer and musician. I also thought that David Wenham was able to infuse Faramir with such pathos...something that was difficult to do with such short on screen time. I still feel, having seen ROTK for a second time, that Sean Astin gave the most outstanding performance. Sam could have been a rather cardboard cutout but he turned it into a three-dimensional character...taking him from a gardener to THE hero of the plot. If it had not been for Samwise Gamgee, Frodo would never have gotten to Mount Doom. And like Gandalf and Galadriel, Sam was able to resist the pull of the ring and pass the test...something none of the others who had access to the ring were able to do. If I could give a score higher than 5 I would. Good conquered evil and did so because of the least ones. I loved how Peter Jackson showed that at the end. I agree that I would have preferred an epilogue (perhaps voice over) telling what became of the members of the fellowship...but regardless, it ended quietly, as peace should be! 