Not Tolkien's Trilogy, not even the spirit of it. Worst of the three

Rating: 1/10 (24 May 2005)

Moves even further from the source material, more so than The Two Towers by Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh. Too many elements are changed from the heart of Tolkien's work. Sam would never have been turned away, and by the way, just how did he find that sword and the light of Elendil in Shelob's lair with no light source? Also, Shelob is spider like, but not a spider. There were no webs in her lair. Even worse is the acting of John Noble as Denethor. Yes, Denethor has despaired, but in the book, his madness is related to his use of a palantir and competing against Sauron. Sauron's will was stronger, and he bent Denethor, left him bereft of hope. This movie, he is a caricature, a cheap, poorly rendered, badly overacted caricature. Faramir's character was assassinated in the second movie, but it is his father who is torn asunder even worse in this one. Aragorn had the sword Anduril after he left Elrond and Rivendell, and says so in the The Two Towers before entering the hall to meet with Wormtongue and Theoden(book). Here, it is given to him by Elrond who never came to visit Aragorn. It was Elrond's sons and the remaining rangers(who allude to no longer protecting the borders of the shire, foreshadowing the scouring) who came to him. And they brought the banner of the king, not the sword. Aragorn acts like a haughty king in the Paths of the Dead, where in the book the scenario is much more dramatic with his humility and doubts. Also, the dead were released after helping them capture the ships with black sails so were not present at the battle at Pellenor Fields. That scene looked like The Frighteners Part 2. Absolutely ridiculous. It is a pretty to look at movie with no substance when compared to the source material. Tolkien loved the Scouring of the Shire, and felt it was the true climax of the entire work. Yet Peter Jackson called it a "simple denouement" and said he hated it. The better story isn't in these movies, and I hope that people can read with a finer eye than they watch these movies with. They aren't that good, and each slips further down. The first adaptation was the best of the three, and this was the worst hands down, yet this one received an Oscar for best adaptation.