As good as it was ever going to be

Rating: Null/10 (19 December 2003)

Once again, Jackson has surpassed himself with this, the denouement of the Rings trilogy. Some Tolkien purists will have reservations about the pace of the plot and the introduction of unnecessarily cheesy cinematic elements (Legolas's oliphaunt-scrambling being one example) and still others will wonder what happened to the final humbling of Saruman that provides such an unexpected but fitting final episode in the book. All in all, though, these are minor criticisms. It would be churlish to deny that Jackson has done justice to this beloved work. The performances are impressive and often affecting, the scenery is simply staggering and most of the CGI effects are seamless. I am not usually one for emotional films but I choked up on more than one occasion. Jackson has managed to put across the central themes of Tolkien's work perfectly. It will be many decades before anyone dares to try this again!