An exciting action flick that is so much better than the other two

Rating: 8/10 (19 October 2018)

I wasn't planning to watch LOTR 3. I had watched the first one, found it as dull and overlong as the book it was based on, watched the second only because I like Gollum but found it dull as well, and figured that was enough. But after I read that the final film of the trilogy had won 11 Oscars I thought that even though the Oscars aren't that reliable I ought to take a look.
And from the first, mesmerizing portrayal of Gollum's back story, I absolutelly love this one. It is an exciting, action-packed movie with epic battles and great special effects.
The weakest part of the movie is it's peaceful final scenes. If you are deeply immersed in the story they are probably offer a satisfying emotional payoff, but if you're just there for the dragons and the ogres then none of it's that interesting. But that's a small part of a movie that is otherwise wall-to-wall action.
Even if you're not a LOTR fan I'd recommend checking this out. You don't need more than a general notion of the thrust of the trilogy to watch this. It's been 15 years since I saw the last movie and 40 since I read the books, but even not being clear on who everyone was didn't cause much confusion.
If you're new to LOTR: There's a quest, there's a hobbit, there's a wizard. Now you're all caught up; go watch this.