Middle Earth came to Birmingham as hundreds of fans declared the new Lord of the Rings movie "fantastic".
 The Return of the King opened in the city yesterday when the UGC cinema in Broad Street staged a 9.50am screening and hundreds of fans were there to become the first in the city to see the final part of the epic trilogy. And their verdict after sitting through the three-and-a-half hour movie was "the best they had ever seen". But other Lord of the Rings devotees were left fuming when a screening at Erdington's Showcase Cinema had to be abandoned. Hundreds of fans sat through three hours of the epic only for technical problems to hit as the film reached its gripping conclusion. Healthcare assistant Deborah Phipps, aged 31, from Old Croft Lane, Shard End, said: "I was hyped-up to see the film but we watched three hours of it and then there was a breakdown. "We had the choice of watching the rest of the film on another screen or taking an emergency ticket so we could come back at our convenience. "I took the tickets but I was really mad about it." No comment was available from Showcase Cinemas. Film-goers at the UGC in Broad Street were ecstatic and united in their praise for the film.
 Mother and daughter Maria Hillier, aged 47, and Emma Clifford, 21 (pictured above), from Bearwood, said the concluding part of the Lord of the Rings trilogy was "fantastic".
"It was the most amazing film I have ever seen," Emma said. "You feel like you are on a journey with the characters and I didn't want it to end." Maria said she "loved" how the plot developed. Birmingham College of Food student Iftikhar Ali (below), aged 21, from Edgbaston, said the Return of the King was the best film he had ever seen.
 "It has really good special effects and the ending is great," he said. Friends Cathy Robinson, aged 25, and Charles Stanley, 28, had travelled from Aberystwyth in Wales to see the movie. "It was fantastic and it was my favourite of the three because it brings everything together," she said. "I haven't felt like crying since I saw ET in 1982 and just when you think you have it all worked out, something else happens," Charles said.
 Couple Ben Clarence, aged 25, and Liz Hawker, 23, of Hall Green, also declared it "fantastic". Tim Marangon, aged 25, from Chester, said he had not liked the second film, The Two Towers, but really enjoyed the new release. And Simon Hoang (below), 23, from Hockley, said: "I love all three films but this one was great."
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