Beautifully realized, but it has eight separate endings

Rating: Null/10 (8 January 2004)

***Spoilers herein***
That's right, this film could have ended eight separate times, but it chose to keep going. It's one of those movies where you think it's going to end, but then suddenly there's another scene. I would rather have had fewer and shorter Hobbit close-ups and Family Ties-style hugging, and more Saruman and Treebeard. The film skips Saruman's downfall, and he's relegated to a single sentence by Gandalf. After all the crap that Saruman pulled, I really wanted to see how broken he was after Isengard's destruction by the Ents. Speaking of Ents, Treebeard is in the film for about a minute. It would have been nice to see he and Gandalf gloating over Saruman's downfall. I guess there was only so much they could fit into three hours.
The three films are a tremendous effort. There are breathtaking vistas, panoramas, and sweeping pans whisking you up and down Minas Tirith and Mordor, and the battle scenes are nothing short of remarkable. In one scene, Legolas swings up the side of an oliphant and quickly kills everyone riding it, then fells the huge beast with a single arrow, all while the view is rapidly rotating around and around the maddened oliphant. It is a stunning special effect.
One problem I had with these films is the realism. In both Minas Tirith and Rohan, there are absolutely no farms, livestock, fields, wagons, crops, markets, trees, or any of the other things that a city requires in order to provide for its people. Watch the movie carefully. See a crop of corn anywhere, or even one single sheep? Where did they get the material for those clothes?
There are two scenes with Shelob that are breathtaking in their simple horror: there is a full view of Shelob, launching herself onto the little Hobbit with the tenacity of a rabid dog. In the theater, everyone gasped at that scene, because it drove home the size of Shelob against the size of Sam. The second one is where Frodo is by himself, on the path, and Shelob looms soundlessly over him. It is creepy to watch.
I'm disappointed by the truncated friendly rivalry between Legolas and Gimli. In the book there was a rich humor in their odd-couple friendship, but it isn't really explored in the films. Then again, there are so many characters that the film couldn't possibly explore them all. Eowyn's story seems particularly abrupt; the tender moment with her dying father is pretty much the last we see of her. I don't remember seeing her at the wedding. The moment she slays the Nazgul reminded me of St. George and the dragon. Also, Faramir's story ends abruptly too. And what about the white tree and the restorative quality of kingsfoil? It was those missing details that could have added more humanity to the film.
There could not have been a better Gandalf than Ian McKellen. He has just the right kind of wise, sprightly, smart-ass attitude that the character has in the book. He's fantastic during battle scenes, whirling around, running back and forth, telling people not to give up, conking mad steward Denethor on the head with his staff. I understand that Peter Jackson wants to make the Hobbit as well, and if so, it will be nice to see Ian McKellen introducing the dwarves one-by-one to Bilbo Baggins at Bag End.
Frodo and Sam's trek through Mordor moves too quickly. One moment they are in the orc's tower, and the next they are at Mount Doom. How did they get there so fast? Gollum's descent into the volcano was perfect. In a final demonstration of just how precious the ring really was to him, he keeps it out of the flame until the last possible moment as he slowly sinks into the lava, deliriously happy at having the ring again as he ignores the lava that eats him alive.
This film isn't perfect, but it's so faithful to the book and so carefully crafted that it's easy to overlook the faults and enjoy the breathtaking scenery.