More than can be expected!

Rating: 9/10 (18 December 2002)

As a fan of the trilogy and the movies to date, I find myself in a juxtaposition as I bet many reviewers are.
While I doubt I could have ever hoped or received a better cinematic adaptation of the tales with the same quality as Peter Jackson has delivered, I find myself asking numerous questions as I praise a stellar job.
Having read the books multiple times both prior and since the release of Peter Jacksons' masterpieces. I have always had what I believe the same queries as he as I read the books.. How can this be done??
Peter Jackson, aside from the fact that he does scale down the vast text, remains true as possible to it during the 3+ hour offering. Capturing the vital elements to each part of the whole story and displaying them to us as grandly as possible is in essence what he does so well.
And therein lies the magic! The things I found lacking were few, but in my opinion for the viewer and the continuity of the story they were critical.
First was the forced pilgrimage of Frodo and Samwise to Gondor at the hand of Faramir which never took place in the books.
Authenticity states that they traveled together in curiosity of each other but in companionship for some time conversing. I assume the course of events taken in the movie were for the purpose of including the fall of Osgiliath and the incorporation of Gondor into the Two Towers in the allotted time.
Second to my distaste was the time Merry and Pippen Spent with the Ent where it is critical to the conclusion that they grow several feet in size.
Perhaps it may be revealed in the final part of the series of movies that in fact they have done so but as the literary time line goes that is not the chain of events as one reads them.
Those are the major points of inaccuracy as I found them.
Now for the crowning achievements. The CG rendered Ent were masterfully represented in likeness and behavior and are second only to Gollum/Smeagol who was briefly introduced in the first movie.. steals the spotlight from the human actors in this film through is realistic behavior, speech and movement.
The battle at Helm's Deep was exceptionally offered both for the imagination and the eye alike and surely stands out as one of the best if not the best mass combat sequences ever offered on film.
If it were not for the limited seating time available and the short attention span of the present day movie patron, each movie could easily alone be 6 hours in length.
What we receive is condensed acceptably with out much lapse in authenticity to the literary masterpiece, offered visually without parallel, and leaves us wanting more all within the span of roughly 3+ hours.
Can we ask for more? Yes! Should we? No! We get more than what we need and certianly more than the admission price, the lively hood of our own imagination should be the basis of your entertainment.
If for whatever reason you fail to be drawn into the world of Middle Earth, be it as a newcomer to Tolkien and his genius, or as a veteran, it is your imagination that fails you not the movie or the director.