Somehow it seemed all far too distant

Rating: 5/10 (11 January 2009)

After I have seen the first movie, when it was shown at the movies, I thought it was the best movie I ever watched. Forgive me, I was a child. Because I could not wait for the second one to be released, I read the whole trilogy. When "The Two Towers" and "The Return of the King" were released, I watched them in great expectation. My thought on the second part was, that it was different from the books, but it was still great in it's own manner. But the third movie disappointed me. I could not find any sign of the Tolkien-feeling that I knew from the books and that was partially carried on by the first two films.
Yes, for sure "The Return of the King" is the most imposing one of the trilogy, but somehow it leaks depth. To me it seemed like this movie focused/decreased only on views of great fortresses, huge marching armies and heroic battles. Unlike the previous parts, this movie left me totally cold. I was never feeling inside the happening or feeling with the characters, I never experienced something like catharsis. I can remember sitting in the cinema and being just sad. There was a lot of action, a lot of things went haywire, but somehow it seemed all far too distant. It was like eating something you haven't eaten for a long time and expecting a certain taste, but realizing that in truth it tastes totally different, much more synthetically.
I think it's a pity and I hope that one day there will be a non-Hollywood adaptation of The Lord of The Rings.