Over all, the film is a muddle: the earnest political confrontations and the dire romance of David and a fellow-fighter (Rosana Pastor) have only a fraction of the dramatic force that Loach delivers with his battle scenes.

NEWYORKER: Land and Freedom

Inland, the battlements of dramatic Nakhal Fort are ripe for a mock battle before young soldiers recover with a picnic in the surrounding date plantations.

BBC: Five family-friendly adventures

"The Return of the King" turns out to be even more ambitious than its remarkable predecessor, "The Two Towers, " though it's obviously not as compact (another relative thing), what with dramatic convolutions within its several plot lines and a stupendous martial passage that manages to dwarf the battle of Helm's Deep.

WSJ: Now That's an Epic