Best we could have hoped for ( possible spoilers)

Rating: 10/10 (9 January 2004)

First let me say that I have read Lord of the Rings several times and love the books and they have a special place in my heart. I have seen the first two movies in the theater and on DVD, standard and extended editions. I saw the third appx, a week ago and I must say that it is the best of the three in many ways. I was riveted to the screen. It was in a word, intense. Let me tell ya what the theater was like in Daytona Beach, Florida. First it was packed. which is no mean feat in a large retirement community. The crowd was mixed, of all ages, even babies, which worried me that they would start crying sometime during the 3 plus hours, but such was not the case. there seemed to be an air of excitement before the film. During the length of the film, very few people got up to go to the rest room or for refreshments and those that did, literally ran up the aisles as fast as they could to get back as fast as they could for fear they might miss something. The film had that feeling for me through out. I just simply did not even consider leaving for any reason. At points during the film you could hear the audience ooh, ahh and even sniffel back tears and emotions. At the end, there was applause. Actual live applause in a small local theater. Sure, the film strays from the book in several meaningful ways and even some parts are personnel favorites of mine, but the reality is that this is film, and it is just not possible to include the depths and lengths that Tolkien delved into in such glorious detail in his work. I can just imagine Return of the King could have been 8 hours long, easy, especially if the scouring of the shire were included. It is almost another movie unto itself. I was with people that never read the book and they were just as much in awe of the film as I was. Jackson deserves the Oscar, no doubt. These films could have been an utter disaster, mangled beyond recognition and made in such a way as to have had no credability and no possible hint of reality, but instead delivered the heart of the story and incredible action, with care to the meaning and spirit in which Tolkien intended. The acting was good to excellent. the casting was over all brilliant. I don't see any particular actor recieving top honors from the academy, but, that may be because the focus was on all the characters as opposed to singeling out just one of the bunch. This is a must see film. It will change how films are made in the future, in more ways than one.