Brilliant conclusion to trilogy SPOILERS

Rating: 10/10 (10 June 2004)

I like this film very much, though FOTR for me is the best.
The cast was superb, as ever, as were the visuals and the emotional elements of the film - I felt they went back to what we saw in FOTR in their intensity. I loved the Faramir/Denethor/Pippin sequences; Gandalf's ride up to Minas Tirith and his 'white shores' speech; the ride of the Rohirrim; the lighting of the beacons; the screeching Nazgul and the beacon thing that shot up from Minas Morgul; 'I'm glad to be with you Samwise Gamgee, here at the end of all things'; 'I do not say do not weep . . .' among many other things.
Actors who really stood out for their fine performances in this film include Ian McKellen, David Wenham, Bernard Hill, John Noble and Elijah Wood.
I did feel that ROTK suffered from the changes that were made to Tolkien's story in TTT - the filmmakers had to catch up on ground lost in that film, which really bore little resemblance to Tolkien's story, despite brilliant casting, acting and visuals (Where was Eomer? Gandalf? Faramir? Why the weak Theoden? Why the Warg fights, dream sequences and unnecessary expansion of Arwen's role at the expense of crucial elements of the story?). I felt that the Gollum/Smeagol sequence should have been in TTT not ROTK, and that it is a great shame that Saruman was not seen in ROTK - apart from anything else, it's too bad that he wasn't given credit for his sterling work on and enthusiasm for the trilogy. His apparent ill treatment by the filmmakers left me feeling rather bad for him.
I am really looking forward to the Extended Edition of the film - the cinema edition was incomplete, in my view, with some very obvious cuts, for instance the Houses of Healing/resolution of Faramir and his talks with Aragorn, which would have affirmed the latter as the rightful king of Gondor, the Black Gate/ MOS, Gandalf's confrontation with the Witch-King, etc. I also think it would have been good to include a proper representation of Denethor, and to have seen Gandalf show the White Tree seedling to Aragorn. Lots of things have not been explained in the film.
Despite all this, the film is incredible - as is the whole trilogy. They are the only films I've seen (much) more than once in the cinema, and I really appreciate the huge effort made by PJ and other people involved in the films. IMHO appreciation of the films will grow with the passage of time, and we will not see their like for many years to come. The end of each year in future is going to seem rather bleak . . .