an awesome and exhausting movie experience

Rating: 10/10 (19 December 2003)

spoilers contained in comments below.
I have been a fan of Tolkien and his books before Peter Jacksons films appeared and I was really afraid that the films would be a mess with pantomine characters and tiny little battles that would not do justice to the epic world created by Tolkien. Having seen the first two films many times and having just seen ROTK, i can say my fears have been totally washed away like Sarumans filth from Isengard. I left the cinema stunned, exhausted and delighted with just about everything about the film. Let me get my criticisms out of the way first, i did think the portrayal of Arwen was a little too weak at times for an elf and the army of the dead made the defeat of Saurons army on Pelanor field looked a little too easy. Several minor characters seemed to be completely neglected like Beregond and the dark captain at the Black Gates. Other omissions like Saruman, the scouring of the shire and the houses of healing were also conspicuous by their absence. Right, on a more positive note the main parts of the film were just fantastic. I was astonished to see all the parts of the book i love the most were there. The mustering of Rohan, Shelobs lair, King Theodens demise at the hands of the witch king, the awesome battle of Pelonor field in all its fearsome glory, the incredible battering ram Grond, Denethors madness, Sam carrying Frodo up Mount Doom, the paths of the dead......on and on it went and finally Frodos finger was lost and it was over! Unbelievable, it made me laugh, cry and cheer. I cant decide how it fits in with the first two films in terms of which one i like the most, a few more viewings are required to sort that one out. I am also a big star wars fan and i hope George Lucas is paying attention and goes to ask Peter Jackson how he did such a complete job on such an epic project. Usually, I dont pay much attention to the oscars, because i rarely like the film that wins the main awards, but if ROTK doesnt clean up the lot then it shows how short sighted the people that vote for them are. Peter, can we have the Hobbit sometime please?