Great Epic Film-making (Part Three--Not My Favorite, But Still An Amazing Achievement)

Rating: Null/10 (17 January 2007)

The third, final, climactic installment of Peter Jackson's epic trilogy is here. It is the film that everybody's been waiting for. This is it--after this, it's all over.
The Battle of Helm's Deep is over. Frodo is still bearing the Ring and is nearing Mordor with every step he takes. But things get worse before they get better. Gandalf must find where Sauron's army will strike, and he must find out quickly.
This movie contains the biggest and most epic battle ever put onto film--and I think that that's a fact, and not an opinion. Without giving much away, I will say that it is the most amazing, exciting fight you probably have witnessed. Of course, I can't speak for most people, but I'm sure a lot of people speak this way.
The performances are decidedly the same as the last two movies--nothing much new going on, which kind of bugged me. There was character development galore, and it was done well, but the performances did not develop with the characters. I was not as impressed with the actors as much in this movie as in the last two. Ian McKellan comes from being a kindly old grandpa in FOTR to a cold and unsympathetic old man in TTT, but comes around in this as a nicer person. Yes, he is still wise, but his character has become much more likable in this--which I was happy about, of course.
The other characters stay about the same though. I'm sure people will flame me for writing this (assuming anyone ever reads this), but I felt that apart from Gandalf, the character arcs were not very steep. Yes, there was character development, but all you ever really did was feel for them more rather than see them change. But this is a moot point.
Technically, this movie surpasses the first two by miles. The CGI is loads better (and when I say 'loads', I mean it). The cinematography is decidedly better and suits this epic atmosphere a lot more than the first two. Howard Shore has outdone himself (again) and delivers much more emotional music. All in all, much better technically than the previous two. And I'm sure lots of LOTR fans will claim this to be their favorite of the series.
Alas, though, it is not my favorite of them. I would have to place that honor on The Two Towers.
Overall, this may not be my favorite, but I will say that it is probably the best of the three films. An amazing (and high-grossing) achievement.
8/10