Awesome is too trite to describe it

Rating: 10/10 (18 December 2002)

Disclaimer:
Those who read book reviews on Amazon may already know that I'm on record as considering LOTR as the finest work of fiction in the English language - and I'm not excluding Shakespeare! So it's only natural that I'd consider any film which does justice to the book in an equally favorable light.
End disclaimer:
LOTR: The Fellowship of the Ring was very good, although much better in its extended DVD edition. LOTR: The Two Towers exceeds the first film in all respects. It's a shame I'll have to wait another year before its extended DVD edition.
LOTR:TTT is better paced than the first film and has a much greater range of emotions. The audience I saw it with alternately cheered, cried, and even belly laughed a few times. Although about the same length as the first film, it seemed shorter. Expectedly, I hated to see it end, and can only hope that LOTR: The Return of the King is as impressive.
Note: Those not familiar with the book might find spoilers ahead!
OK, about details... The climactic battle for Helm's Deep is difficult to adequately describe. I should probably wait until I can pick up my jaw to write this. Peter Jackson seamlessly blends both live action and some of the most impressive CGI I've ever seen to create a battle that seems more real than the realistic ones in, e.g., "Saving Private Ryan", "Pearl Harbor", and "Enemy at the Gate".
Most LOTR fans had been waiting with some trepidation to see how the entirely CGI characters of Gollum and Treebeard would turn out. Whether they match a reader's personal vision or not, they are well done and amazingly credible. Gollum/Smeagol is convincing as a tortured soul being manipulated by the power of the ring, but with some residual trace of decency trying to get out. This was not so obvious in the book, but is done perfectly in the film.
Treebeard and the Ents could have been silly in the wrong hands, but are entirely sympathetic and believable characters here. By the time they attacked Isengard, the audience was cheering them like a stadium full of football fans.
If the Academy and/or the Director's Guild don't reward Peter Jackson for this, then they should simply quit the hypocrisy and post a sign on the door that SF and fantasy films aren't welcome. I consider this and the first film to be 2/3 of what has already become my favorite movie of all time. I can hardly wait for the last third...
Update:
By now most of my comments have become irrelevant. PJ was overlooked for LOTR:TTT, but amply compensated by the Oscar sweep of LOTR:ROTK. The only thing to add is that the extended director's cut DVD was just much of a revelation as the extended version of LOTR:TFOTR.