SPOILERS Episodic, too long, loosely stitched together

Rating: 4/10 (21 December 2003)

OK I know I am in a very small minority of people who aren't fans of the LOTR trilogy (book and film), but hey for what it's worth...
Thinking of this as a film in its own right (imagine never having read the book or having seen the first two films), ROTK is a real mess. The first 1.5 hours or so are spent plodding along, introducing very confusing plot sidelines and small details that do nothing to further the story. You'd be hard pressed to name anyone whose acting actually made an impact - though the notable exception for me, at least, was Sean Astin who really is very convincing as what I would describe as a'young man far from home, having to grow up far too quickly, but keeping to his own straightforward ideals'. His is the one character I really believed in, that drew me in and tugged my emotions.
The film taken as a whole shows up the way it was filmed - this feels like a load of bits of scenic and studio film, with a director with far too much material to play with, cutting and splicing bits here and there, in a loose and sometimes bizarre manner. (Imagine having never read the book. Then explain for me, if you will, why exactly Arwen is well, then has dreams, then chooses mortality over elf life, then mysteriously gets sick and doesn't put in any appearances till near the end ... far too sketchy!).
Once again Gollum the animated character leaves me totally cold - I just don't get it! To me he is a cartoon character and no matter how brilliantly Andy Serkis portrays the voice, I cannot be convinced. I don't sense evil or split personality at all, except in the dialogue.
Frodo - to me, Elijah Wood is just not a good actor. It's all wan face and big eyes.
However, he does have the best bit of the movie - the encounter with Shelob, the great spider. Finally a piece of animation that really convinces, and terrifies if you're in the mood to be frightened! So much better and more intimate than the rapid-angle-change battle scenes that litter this film, and were such a drag in Two Towers.
And finally, the ending(s) - all 6 or more of them! I thought that the scene where Aragorn is crowned would be the end, a fitting climax. But no, we just keep getting more endings! By the end instead of crying at the sadness I was chuckling, it was like hearing a symphony where the composer can't work out how to make the ending really satisfying, so keeps putting in more and louder chords in a transparent effort to heighten the drama.
I, for one, am not sorry to see the end of this series of films. A phenomenon, yes, but not a classic trilogy at all. An even more disappointing final instalment than to the Matrix (but before you accuse me of wholesale negativity - I thought Matrix 1 and 2 were fantastic).