A very very good film! Perhaps not as good as Fellowship of the Ring and Return of the King

Rating: 8/10 (25 January 2005)

Spoilers perhaps
First of all I'd like to say I love the trilogy as a whole and I don't think it deserves some of the stick it's getting. I mean just because it's popular people get worried that is going to "rise above" or become a supposedly better film among viewers. What a load of rubbish. I hate to break it to you but just because something is new doesn't mean it isn't a classic. These films are as close to a classic as any modern films at the moment. It's not an order to like these films, it's just very annoying that trolls and LOTR "bashers" just give it abuse just because it has a very high rating, won eleven Oscars etc. If you don't like these films you could at least give a reason.
Secondly I'd like to say that I feel this was weaker than FOTR and ROTK and it is #12 on my top movie list whereas FOTR is #5 and ROTK is #1. I have many old classics on my list such as The Godfather, Casablanca and Citizen Kane but for overall enjoyment this trilogy is top. I find this not as emotional as the other two. I mean the elf Haldir dies, there is a brief lovely thing with Sam near the end but apart from that not really. The main qualities about these films are that they are emotionally grabbing and feel like real life, which I feel The Two Towers didn't have, but enough of my moaning. Time for the best bits.
The Special Effects were absolutely awesome and 10/10 in quality and no I don't think they wrecked the film. People say also that the acting was poor however Ian Mckellen as Gandalf was superb, Sean Astin as always the Sam I imagined and as for Andy Serkis, well he was superb as Gollum. PJ and the team did terrifically well in making the creature Gollum/Smeagol. It was very interesting to see the emotional struggles he has in it. The Costume Design was good too. You always imagined an orc would look like it did. Elijah Wood as Frodo was impressive again, he's going to be a good actor! Orlando Bloom as Legolas has had so much criticism which is underserved as he isn't just a pretty boy. I can't say he deserved an Oscar as he had a smaller part than perhaps Aragorn and Frodo and Gandalf etc. Cinematography was good, the music stunning. The Sound and score superb. I highly recommend you see this film! Although I see the second and third LOTR not really as sequels, this is somewhat a very good sequel when you consider how many poor sequels there are nowadays.
There also many Christian Themes and good messages but I won't go into that as it is explained in a book called "A closer look at Lord of the Rings" which I recommend you read.
Overall rating-VERY GOOD GO AND SEE AND BE IN FOR A CRACKER OF A FILM!