Essentially a re-do of Part 2, misses some marks, but still good...

Rating: Null/10 (29 April 2008)

I actually enjoy this third installment, but I liked the second one much better. About 3/4 of this one is a grander and bigger version of what happened in Part 2, with the other 1/4 being new stuff along with the continuation of Frodo's mission.
The series is full of grandeur and morality that rivals any other film, but it is also derivative of other fantasy films in ways that are not merely coincidental, and is sometimes contradictory regarding the moral messages it conveys. in particular the messages regarding war and death with honor.
I think Part 3 missed the mark by bumping off Chris Lee so soon, and not allowing any sort of redemption for Gollem. It was obvious that would be a problem since he had murdered a friend to gain the ring, but it could have been done. As it was, the only scene of redemption was when the dead, disgraced soldiers returned for battle, and that was only so they could get something in return, not really any sort of redemption as they had nothing to lose in the fight and couldn't be killed again. So Part 3 was lacking in this regard.
A very good film, often great, but not the best picture of the year.