Wow...I'll say it again...WOW

Rating: 9/10 (21 November 2004)

I can't even begin to understand this movie's detractors. This movie was fantastic, spectacular, awe-inspiring...
Though I have to admit that - to me after multiple viewings over a short period of time - it's a bit ponderous (not as light and magical like "Fellowship" that I've watched probably 100 times, and I'm still looking forward to my next viewing), but it is a stellar flick.
Yes, the movies didn't stick like glue to the books, but they were far closer than I would have ever given Peter Jackson and his team credit for being able to do. The ending in RotK (theater version) skipped a big piece of the book's ending, but that would be the only big issue.
People have complained that this ending took too long, but I disagree. Seeing this movie end was like saying goodbye forever to a good friend, and I was sorry that it was over. That's perhaps the first time in my adult life that I was so genuinely caught up in a movie (or trilogy, in this case) that I was genuinely sad when it ended. Yes, it took a bit of time to wind down, but I thought that was a nice, gentle way of easing the viewer out of 3 years' worth of agonized waiting to see how Peter Jackson would treat the trilogy's conclusion. I think it was a far better way to send the trilogy's fans off than the old wham-bam-thank-you-ma'am methods of most movie makers in this CGI world. It was a long journey to get to the end, and the way it was filmed was beautiful and sublime, a quality sorely lacking in movies that are top-heavy with CGI in this day and age.
I heard so many people say with immobile certainty that these films will be dismissed as inferior in a matter of just a few years. As computer graphics improves, the failings of this movie will become ever more apparent, some say. While I agree that there were some parts of the movie(s) that were quite obviously CGI, I'm that much more impressed that this movie (all three of them, in fact) were able to hold me so rapt, in spite of these CGI "issues." That kind of stuff usually pulls me right out of a movie because it's so distracting. Kudos more to Peter Jackson and Company for making something so wonderful, in spite of the fact that Mr. Jackson's vision was a bit more than current computer technology can handle. So what? How can anybody say that these three movies will be so summarily dismissed as substandard in a matter of a few years? Is the Wizard of Oz considered trash? Its special effects are laughable by today's standards, and yet it's still considered a classic. Is Dracula (Bela Lugosi's Dracula) considered trash? Its special effects are even worse than the Wizard of Oz, yet any horror buff still considers this movie great. Or (God forbid...she's about to say something bad about STAR WARS! Blasphemer!), how many of you are willing to forsake the first (er, the fourth...whatever) in the Star Wars series even though there are some glaring problems in the special effects department by today's standards? In fact, since we're mentioning the Star Wars franchise and "today's" technology, the special effects in the last 3 (the first 3...oh, dammit, the PRE-Darth Vader ones) were pretty cool, but still couldn't make up for horrible scripts and non-existent character development. Anyway, back to the trilogy at hand...
I think brilliant story-telling transcends special effects. And this movie was brilliant. It deserved every Academy Award it got. In fact, I think the Academy should go back and give special Oscars to several of the cast members. Each actor did a wonderful job (which, by the way, surprised me a LOT...before I watched the trilogy, I would only have given Sir Ian McKellan credit for being able to pull off such an epic role), the story was engaging, the cinematography was stunning, and Peter Jackson pulled everything together beautifully (another surprise to me, considering his humble directing background). The Fellowship of the Ring took my breath away, and made me want to re-read the LOTR trilogy all over again. The Two Towers left me again reaching for the books. Same story for Return of the King. I loved all three movies, and they shall probably always be among my favorites of all time.
To the naysayers, I say you're being too hard on this movie. Enjoy it for what it is: a gorgeous work of art. I think Tolkien would be proud.
Thanks for reading.