worst of the 3, and the stink of the first 2 rose pretty high

Rating: 1/10 (24 December 2003)

Obviously this was a faithless and pointless butchering of the novel, but what's worse, a terrible movie. Lacking flow, sense, linearity and dramatic impact, this played out like a highlights reel, not a coherent story. The actors did an admirable job with the awful dialogue and nosensical personalities they were given, with some exceptions. Peter Jackson's only two abilities seem to lie in super close up and super wide out shots, both of which are heartily abused. And the special effects, for the most part, would have been better served by a cardboard set and some directing ability. There were high points, but this was and is the first and only movie I have ever left before the end and they barely kept me there but for the Eowyn-Nazgul scene. A hollywood blockbuster? No Doubt. A good movie? Hell no. Possessing anything in common with the literature it is supposedly based on? The fact is, if this were based on real events, I don't think the people involved would have given them to right to use their real names. Maybe that wouldn't be such a big deal if I didn't have to hear about Jackson's love of the books, or read reviews that discuss staying true to the source material. There is hardly a scene or underlying theme in the movie that has anything to do with the books. This movie could probably have been worse, but I would be hard pressed to know how...