Still black and white. But the spider's cool.

Rating: 6/10 (17 December 2003)

Not surprisingly, a lot of good plot had been removed from the story, and a lot of bad plot inserted. This is hardly news; the same happened to the two predecessors. Much was lost by skipping "The Scouring of the Shire". The computer graphics are well-done but rarely convincing, and Gollum's only task is to provide comic relief. Most of the audience seemed to find him quite funny. I was just bored.
Tolkien's books told a great story basically about the weakness of men (and other races), and the importance of not fighting alone. The best example being the events on the edge of Mount Doom. Tolkien made a strong point in that nobody is perfect, neither perfectly good nor perfectly evil.
The film completely ignores this and simplifies things to pure black and white. There's good, and there's evil, with nothing in-between , no shades of grey.
And that I think is sad.
All that being said, the film has a few but important qualities, and that's the great camera work, the excellent acting and the stunning scenery - CG-scenery too.
The rest of the CG is not that interesting, except for Shelob the spider who really makes up for it. The sound of a whole cinema audience simultaneously gasping in horror as ... Well, I won't spoil for those who haven't read the books. But wow. So, in the end, despite all its flaws, I recommend seeing this film. But go see it now, on the big screen. It won't be worth your time on TV.