Oh, yeah

Rating: 10/10 (17 December 2003)

Peter Jackson wasn't lying--this really is one big movie cut into three parts, rather than three different movies. If you liked the first two movies, you will like this one. If you didn't like the first two movies, go see something else. This one won't bother to bring you up to speed. It's got lots of other things on its mind.
Like other fans of the books, I was disappointed to see some of the quieter grace notes get cut. RotK is a huge book, even leaving out the appendices, so that didn't surprise me much. However, I was very pleased to see some of Tolkien's telling get shown.
Those mummakÃ®l are stunning, for example. Even if Jackson seems to be having a bit of fun at George Lucas' expense in that case, who cares? It works. And the Ride of Rohirrim is really well done. I was more than a bit worried about what they'd do with that piece.
I thought the changes worked in the context of Jackson's version of the trilogy--they make sense as he's been telling the story so far and they shake up the plot just enough that even someone who knows the book by heart would be wondering what's next. But fear not, the movie is faithful to the end of the books.