Films like The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) reads as Neutral, kinetic, extreme fantasy / adventure, inventive in texture. Ambivalent, epic, measured. Every film below is ranked by distance across the same twelve hand-scored axes — with what it keeps, and where it walks away. Not a genre dump.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 (2011) poster
1. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 22011

Keeps the world-sized stakes and the white-knuckle intensity; trades toward a relentless forward drive.

King Kong (2005) (2005) poster
2. King Kong2005

Keeps the cold, bleak undertow and the world-sized stakes; trades toward a pitch-dark outlook.

Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance (2009) poster
3. Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance2009

Keeps the world-sized stakes and the unmistakable directorial hand; trades toward a cold, bleak undertow.

Princess Mononoke (1997) poster
4. Princess Mononoke1997

Keeps the cold, bleak undertow and the world-sized stakes; trades toward a white-knuckle intensity.

Baahubali: The Beginning (2015) poster
5. Baahubali: The Beginning2015

Keeps the cold, bleak undertow and the world-sized stakes; trades toward a relentless forward drive.

Superman Returns (2006) poster
6. Superman Returns2006

Keeps the cold, bleak undertow and the world-sized stakes; trades toward a relentless forward drive.

Baahubali 2: The Conclusion (2017) poster
7. Baahubali 2: The Conclusion2017

Keeps the cold, bleak undertow and the world-sized stakes; trades toward a relentless forward drive.

Gurren Lagann the Movie: The Lights in the Sky Are Stars (2009) poster
8. Gurren Lagann the Movie: The Lights in the Sky Are Stars2009

Keeps the world-sized stakes and the white-knuckle intensity; trades toward a relentless forward drive.

Real Steel (2011) poster
9. Real Steel2011

Keeps the cold, bleak undertow and the world-sized stakes; trades toward a unmistakable directorial hand.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005) poster
10. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire2005

Keeps the cold, bleak undertow and the documentary-plain realism; trades toward a unmistakable directorial hand.

The Two Towers (2002) poster
11. The Two Towers2002

Keeps the cold, bleak undertow and the world-sized stakes; trades toward a unmistakable directorial hand.

Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004) poster
12. Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow2004

Keeps the cold, bleak undertow and the world-sized stakes; trades toward a unmistakable directorial hand.

These are The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King’s neighbours — where are yours?

Rate five posters and the same twelve axes read you — then tonight’s pick comes from your own centre of taste.

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