Can't say I liked it

Rating: 7/10 (1 February 2004)

First of, I LOVED the first two movies. Well-written, beautifully directed with eye-popping special effects and never boring (despite their length). Well...it doesn't hold true for this one.
Yes--the direction is good, the special effects still fantastic...but I was bored. It had an air of "been there--seen that" about it. I've seen these special effects, I've seen these creatures...there were no surprises. And the story moves VERY slowly...much slower than the first two. Frodo, Sam and Gollum's trip to Mount Doom took FOREVER! Also Viggo Mortensen (after giving a good performance in the second one) really was lousy this time around. Orlando Bloom and John Rhys-Davies were good but hardly in it. The best acting was from Ian McKellan (a tower of strength as Gandalf) and Sean Astin as Sam. Also it was good to see Liv Tyler and Cate Blanchett back again...and I DID enjoy the battles somewhat...but I was continuously looking at my watch. And the film has at least FIVE endings!
Also the tone of this film was darker than the first two and this film is WAY too violent for a PG-13--this is an R rating all the way.
I can only give this a 7. I just really didn't like it.