Possibly the best of the three, certainly the grandest...

Rating: Null/10 (20 December 2003)

***Spoilers ahead?***
Firstly, i have to recommend you see this on the big screen. Don't wait for the DVD because it will have nowhere near the same impact...
This is an amazing film, Peter Jackson and all of the actors deserve their praise, notably Viggo Mortensen and Sir Ian McKellen, although you cannot ignore the Elijah Wood - Sean Astin - Andy Serkis partnership, as Frodo and his companions venture further into the darkness of Mordor...
Much has been made of the battle scenes, and with good reason; the numbers of orcs and CGI beasts have increased, thousands of horses race across the plains towards battle, and nearly every character has their own 'big moment' - fans of Eowyn will be pleased to see her donning her armour and getting stuck in to the fighting.
As in The Two Towers, there are separate story strands running along-side each other which come together at the end; Aragorn and his dead army, Gandalf and Pippin, and Theoden's men including Merry and Eowyn, come together in the Big Battle, in order to buy Frodo some time from Sauron's evil gaze. Frodo, however, has problems of his own, in the shape of spider Shelob (who's not really as scary as she is in the book) and the treacherous/loyal/treacherous/loyal (you get the idea) Gollum.
Towards the end, Jackson does pile on the sentimentality somewhat, but I suppose this is necessary to tie up all the loose ends, and you will leave the cinema genuinely moved.
This trilogy is a magnificent achievement and I shall be interested to see what Peter Jackson does next...roll on King Kong...