A Good Movie but Not as Great as The Hype

Rating: 7/10 (17 December 2003)

This is a good movie. There is no question about this fact. Many people however are getting over-crazed with the praise. This film is lacking a few things which prevent it from being fantastic, including:
Saruman is NEVER in this film leaving a huge gap in the plot (they simply say he's lost all his power).
The final two battles are virtually back to back with all the scenes with the Mouth of Sauron removed making it seem anti-climactic.
The last 30 minutes are slightly cheesy and dull making people wonder when the movie will end.
Arwen is again edited rather badly making her whole purpose and decision confusing for non-die hard fans.
The CGI is generally fantastic but during the Minas Tirith battle, some of the shots of warriors being felled by arrows were so clearly computer generated that some audience members started laughing.
The orc army that's flanked Aragorn's final army just seems to go away after the fall of Sauron. The army attacking from the front fall into the ground but the flanking forces just dissapear with no mention of them.
The attacking Dead Army overrun the orcs at Minas Tirith in 20 seconds then are gone. Again, a bit anti-climactic.