Perfection in Film-making

Rating: 10/10 (30 June 2005)

In my review of the first two installments in this trilogy, I wrote:
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It has been tossed around in Hollywood for a long time. The very idea of making a big-budget feature film of the timeless novels is intoxicating. But how do you create a film that is true to the stories (and thus not going to upset the legions of rabid fans that can practically quote the books from start to finish) and still make a film that will attract the non-rabid fan who has vaguely heard of the existence of these books by some author from World War I?
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Well, for the last time, I do not claim to be a rabid fan (I read the books, I liked the books, and have felt for a long time that they could make a good movie). I also do not claim to be some sort of insider that can give someone the secret to the process that lead to this masterpiece. Just as with the first installment, the cast, crew, writers, producers, and very talented director managed to tell a nearly flawless version of the third book's tale...
...as an adaptation, and as a stand-alone movie, and finally as the capstone on a monumental film-making achievement, this film is a "10/10" if any has ever been.
the film not only has no real shortcomings, it manages to fill in gaps that were left by the previous two films. Although I was disappointed to head that the final Shire scenes of the book were not included -- the point of those scenes were included as Sam dealt with he spider and the other trials and tribulations of the last parts of his journey.
The film is a fantastic piece of work that I highly recommend to anyone and everyone. But: I recommend that you watch the extended cut DVD version, and that you plan to sit down for all three films -- because this is not (technically) a stand-alone film. It is just Act 3 of a 3 Act screenplay.