Satisfying *spoilers*

Rating: 10/10 (17 December 2003)

Well, I finally saw the ending of the saga. It doesn't to any of the three films justice to see them as three separate films. It's one film, in three parts, and frankly I would have had nothing against a 9-hour film, but what can you do?
*spoilers*
The film picks up after the victory over Helm's Deep. The kingdom of Rohan is safe, but even though Saruman is defeated, Sauron continues his war against men and is preparing to attack Minas Tirith. Once again, men find themselves outnumbered and the chances of holding the defense, let alone a victory are extremely low.
Meanwhile, Frodo and Sam continue on their horrible journey to Mordor. Gollum turns Sam against his friend, and when things just can't possibly seem to get any worse, they do.
I won't give you the whole story, those who are reading this have probably seen it already. What I'm trying to say is that it was the _perfect_ way to end the tale. I was doubtful of whether or not Jackson would stay true to the book and keep the Shire-ending and Valinor sailing as well, but he did. I think that's brilliant because it answers all the necessary questions, but on the other hand for people who haven't read the book, it might be a tad overstretched.
The one who said this movie did not have anyintense moments must lack the skill to see emotion and intensity through anything else than action and suspense. If you wanted action, there was plenty in TTT. There was lots of suspense in FotR. IMO, The battle of Minas Tirith was breathtaking as well as intense, although I can see the difference between the suspense felt in Helm's Deep and Minas Tirith. Here, the point of the movie was to finish it all, to finally see Frodo destroy the ring. The battles were side-stories.

And the destruction was a marvellous scene. All the scenes of Frodo and Sam leading to that moment were marvellous. You could so _feel_ the desperation of Frodo, the emotions Sam was going through when Gollum fooled Frodo. The intesity was overwhelming.
So there it is, thats my opinion. The end of the story, with a climax (yes, there was a climax) and enough intensity leading to that climax, action, and no annoying one-liners (i hated those one-liners with Gimli in TTT). There was a deepening of the characters in this film, for example with Merry and Pippin. It may sound arrogant, but these sort of films are not meant for people who associate comic relief and pure action with the success of a well told saga. I mean come on, this _is_ Tolkien's work we're talking about. If it were up to him, he would have made a documentary rather than a film about it. These films are a (relatively) successful combination of good directing, breathtaking effects, (pretty) good acting on average, and Tolkien's great storytelling.