Well, what can I say.

Rating: 9/10 (23 December 2002)

Mindblowingly, jawdroppingly amazing.
For the last hour and a half of this....masterpiece, I needed the toilet. But, I didn't want to miss a second of it. Even when *MINOR SPOILER* The river Isen was unblocked by the ents.*END OF SPOILER*
Such was the grandness and scale of this film. With the huge, long, flowing shots of the perfect New Zealand landscape. Battles on a larger scale than any in a long time.
The acting (as with the first film) was top-notch. Not once did I feel that anything I saw on screen was fake or acted (I knew it was fake or acted, but it didn't feel that way).
But special note must go to Gollum, Andy Serkis. Who really brought a highly complex character (made even harder to play by not being real) to life. The voice is both pitiable and haunting, the screeches and groans, the snarling were all exactly as I imagined them while reading the book. The SFX of Gollum on screen are the best I have ever seen in my life. At some points it was hard to tell if he was CG or some kind of puppet. So cudos to the SFX team.
Vigo is once again great as Aragorn, who is another complex character. Frodo still seems a little but 'fruity' for my liking. But Sean Astin is very good as Sam.
I don't want to even mention the battle at the end. So as not to ruin it for any of you. But is the best thing you'll have seen for a long time, and the best battle you will see in cinema for.....12 months (Return Of The King). All in all, mightedly deserved of 10/10.