Thoughts, that don't spoil much

Rating: 9/10 (18 December 2003)

Well this is certainly a good movie, however (without giving too much away) I felt it had some moments of great 'unrealism' similar to the Two Towers when gimli and aragorn single handedly defeat hundreds of urukai and orcs without breaking a sweat.
I havent read the books recently, and these moments may of also occured in the books as they did in the movies but I just find them as cheap and degrading to the overall integrity of the film.
I will only mention Eowyn against various creatures, and a couple of eagles against nazghul mounts. Totally unrealistic, and this let the movie down for me. Oh and not to mention the 'hill pirates' (you'll understand once you see them) are stupid.. and a single one could probably win all the battles by itself.
The first part was more relistically portrayed because of the smaller scale of things, but by the latter episodes with an ever increasing amount of foes the cheap option is taken without there really being a good reason behind why the main characters are invulnerable.
A fantasy series that handles this problem better is A Song of Ice and Fire.
Overall I liked the Fellowship the most and The Two Towers last, with Return of the King fitting in between.
Smeagol/Gollum is great as always!