just did a marathon of the trilogy yesterday and felt just like this
I might have said it before, I don't remember, but while Return of the King the movie has its flaws (more so than the other two imo) no other film has ever come close to making me feel the pure relief and elation of the last half hour. I can't even put it into words. No other happy ending feels that earned, no other journey feels as long and as complete as this one. People can joke about the 5 successive ending scenes but I'd gladly sit through 10 more of those because it feels like coming home and home is heaven.