A disappointing ending

Rating: 6/10 (2 January 2004)

After producing what seemed to me something of a masterpiece (FOTR) and a very, very, good film (TTT), containing what I consider one of cinema's great moments in the battle for Helms Deep, the trilogy seems to me to finish with merely a good film. I consider ROTK weaker than the previous two in almost every aspect, with the main problems: patchy special effects, which go from absolutely brilliant to laughable, constant intercutting between story lines that destroys any sense of momentum and engagement (though it would have been difficult to do it any other way given the nature of the book), a poor score (in stark contrast to the others) and the curse of the sequel "you've seen it all before". All this being said it is still an enjoyable, if rather long film, and the overall trilogy is an incredible achievement for Jackson and his team.