An Epic

Rating: Null/10 (30 December 2002)

For those who complain about the movie deviating from the book -- you obviously do not understand anything about writing AND movie making. And you do not understand the differences between the two media: books and films. You must be the same people who said "Gone With The Wind," one of the most beloved films of all time, sucks because it was different from the book...
This movie is magnificent. Some of my friends are not fantasy fans but they enjoyed the movie and would very much like to see ROTK. That must mean something. This movie is epic movie making at its best. The battle at Helms Deep is more incredible than anything we have seen so far -- not even Braveheart, which won the 1995 Best Picture. The performances are outstanding all around, and that is quite an achievement for an ensemble this size. The visuals are fantastic, albeit some minor flaws. And Gollum is one hell of a character -- truly groundbreaking.
It is not to say this movie is perfect. Nothing is. I for one couldn't quite get into the plot with the Ents (I guess it was a little too "Never Ending Story" for me). But this is definitely movie making at its best.