I can't imagine it being done any better

Rating: Null/10 (19 December 2003)

Well, the year-long wait wasn't for naught, thankfully. Jackson and crew pulled it off pretty spectacularly. Since I am one of those who has actually read LOTR AND almost all the surrounding background material more times than I like to admit, I suppose I and those like me can appreciate better than those who haven't read the books, just how great a feat this really is. In my mind the fact that I wasn't even tempted to sit back and pick apart what he changed or omitted, is testament to how gripping this movie is and how, changes notwithstanding, it sweeps you up for 3 1/2 hours and doesn't let go. The only thing that caused me a momentary crash back into the theatre and caused an incredulous snort of "what the.....??" was when he tried to tie Arwen's living or dying to the fate of the ring. Complete codswallop and very jarring. I also didn't care for how base he made Denethor's character. I did love the army of the dead however. They were very cool and one of the few things that he envisioned more fully and better than I ever did. Anyway, this whole trilogy was a tall order and some things were bound to be changed or omitted just from sheer necessity, but Jackson should get high praise from devoted readers of LOTR for honoring Tolkien's vision AND quite simply, making a kick-ass movie accessible to all.