..gave me thrills I never knew existed outside the bedroom

Rating: 10/10 (20 December 2002)

Well, it's only happened all over again, hasn't it? I see the movie at the cinema on opening night, this time with a 12-strong personal-company force - and it blows me away. So much that when we all talk about it afterwards, everyone comments on how I seem not to have too much to say about it and that perhaps, shock - I "didn't like it as much as I thought I would".
Well, the reason is that I was computing it all - everything I had just seen, in my head. In short, I loved it and blah blah, but I realised as soon as I stood up at the end that I needed to see it again to give a truer personal reflection of it. So, just like last time, I went and saw it again the very next day. And, just like last time, it cemented my thoughts on the film and lo and behold, I can talk excitedly about it in great detail, and talk non-stop...back to my normal self, then.
So, the movie? Well...after viewing it once, my initial thought was....very, very brilliant, but not quite up to the first installment. Everyone else I went with (that's 11 others) said it was better than FOTR, all except for one other than myself anyway. But I'd seen FOTR so much, grown so attached to it that I doubted I could like another movie more.
Seeing as I honestly cannot say anything I didn't like about the movie (other than the way it leaves me wanting more is so painfully great), let us pass on to what was good about this movie, shall we?
Let's see....Immediate, dramatic and fiery start - very welcome and shot brilliantly. I will not go into zealous detail about the effects of this film - the whole world KNOWS they're good. Even my dead hamster knows they're good.
The acting was flawless, not one noticeable dipping performance. Special congrats to the actors responsible for Theoden and Gollum. Touching and frightening, in that order. Frightening as in, sheer believability rather than scary. You actually end up feeling sorry for that wretch, which is amazing given the look of him. Oh, and Miranda Otto as Eowyn positively shines.
The music - one of the highlights of FOTR - was again emotionally-driven and all that it should be - triumphant, sad, dramatic, moving. Faultless. And I totally love the theme of Edoras and Rohan.
Scenery - well, again, my dead hamster knows that this was also breath-takingly well executed and made the most of. It's beautiful. The set of Edoras on the hill (the Golden Hall) was fantastic.
But the real high-light of TTT for me, like many others, was the 50 minute battle of Helm's Deep. Won't go into all of that here - I'm sure you've all read it many times before this, but suffice to say, for me it stole the show and I would argue that it is the best set piece I have ever seen in the cinema. See the movie, even if you missed the first one - for this alone. Disappointed you will not be, I promise.
SLIGHT SPOILERS***: Brief personal favourite bits: Gandalf releasing King Theoden from Saramun's grasp and the shot where Gandalf and Eomer charge down the slope at the very end into the flank of the Orcish army to save the day - the camera work swooping over the hill and down it gave me thrills I never knew existed outside the bedroom. END OF SPOILERS***
Of the party I went to the cinema with, my two best friends only came with me because I made them - they did not like FOTR. However, they both found this one far more enjoyable, largely thanks to the increase of pace and action.
I am going to see it again tomorrow, though whether my trips to see it at the cinema match the 9 I made for FOTR remains to be seen. Regardless of that outcome, by tomorrow evening I'll be a third of the way there.
And I can't wait.