I tried, but couldn't find a flaw worth docking points.

Rating: 10/10 (27 December 2002)

I am highly critical of movies. Perhaps my criteria are a little different, since I notice that I don't like a lot of movies that are blockbusters. LOTR2 however is a blockbuster that I liked. Here's how I rated it: Story - Tolkein spent his life creating the world that this movie is based in. You can't beat that. Acting - Wonderful semi-popular actors that still have to prove themselves. The acting is top notch. (anyone remember Star Wars ep4?) Directing - Is it quite apparent that the directing was done with great care and dedication. I was unable to find one scene that could have had a better cut. Music - The musical scores in this movie are clean, flowing, and quite moving, but do not get in the way of the movie itself. LOTR1 had a few scenes that could have used a little less musical volume, but LOTR2 did not suffer the same flaw. Sound effects - Do you ever think, "Hey I've heard that EXACT same bloop/slash/scream before"? Well I have. I think someone made a universal sound database, and everyone uses it. Everyone except the LOTR crew. Special effects - Easily my most critical area. LOTR2 stopped me cold on this criterion. Well, I did find -one- flaw in the SFX, but it was water, and water is just given to be bad in any movie. Not that it was bad, but it was certainly not perfect. However, the unprecedented computer graphics such as the Ents, and the other very believable CG scenes made up for the brief scene with the rushing water. Furter notes - The movie had intense action, and breathtaking CG, but did not use those as a crutch for poor acting, and lackluster directing (as the new Star Wars movies are doing). Furthermore the CG far surpasses the quality of even ILM(Lucas). That earns bonus points.