Peter Jackson's splendidly unadorned vision of a Tolkien masterpiece.

Rating: 10/10 (23 October 2006)

I may as well start off by declaring that this is my favourite movie of all time. Not that I think it's perfect. It has flaws not apparent in The Fellowship of the Ring, a near-perfect gem of a film. But more about TTT's imperfections later. I didn't "choose" it as a favourite film because it is the best, rather it "chose" me, by speaking to my heart and mind in a way no other movie has before or since has. Within Peter Jackson's inspired vision of The Lord of the Rings, TTT just grabbed me with its uncompromisingly gritty intensity. It is the very centre of a monumental life or death struggle between good and evil. The beginning is long gone and the ending is still far off. I just love that the each of the three groups separated from each other by FotR's Uruk-hai attack never find their friends. They are all driven by simple hope no matter how desperate their situations may get, and this theme is brilliantly summed up by Sam's speech in Osgiliath at the end.
The opening sequence of Gandalf fighting the Balrog while they fall is a splendid mix of state-of-the-art special effects and character exposition. The ferocity of Ian McKellen's performance more than matches the spectacular sight of the plunging, flaming Balrog on the big screen. But better is to follow. Andy Serkis and a brilliant CGI team brings the repulsive and pathetic yet compelling creature Gollum to life in a way inconceivable before the release of this movie. The other new characters add to the intrigue as the Rohan's struggle for survival unfolds. The actors playing Eomer, Wormtongue, Eowyn and Theoden are perfectly cast, as the story flows seamlessly from the ending of FotR.
As for the controversial changes to the book of TTT, I feel they are justified. Aragorn's urging of Arwen to leave Middle Earth is a noble act of self-sacrifice. The further exposition of Arwen's character and her relationship with Aragorn adds so much to our understanding of him. He is a more rounded and vulnerable character as a result. To not bring Arwen and Aragorn's tale out of the RotK appendices would have been a grave injustice, because within the narrative of the book her character is badly underwritten. I also liked seeing the Elves at Helm's Deep, because viewers who haven't read the Silmarillion would not realise the extent of their losses in previous wars with Melkor and Sauron. The addition of Faramir's bad decision-making is even more controversial, but I say, why not make him more suitable for the unforgiving medium of film? On the page he is a wonderfully written character, but after just a cosy chat with Frodo he lets him go on into the heart of Mordor with the Ring! The film audience would start to doubt the power of the Ring with Faramir being so immune to it, and also would end up wondering in RotK if it was actually necessary for Aragorn to take over the rule of Gondor from such a perfect heir to the now-dead Denethor. In the film Faramir's development as a character is extremely moving, culminating in his final quiet decision to release Frodo.
In this film Faramir, Aragorn and Theoden are real characters I can better identify with, rather than the idealised figures of Tolkien's original book. I am not putting down Tolkien, because I love his writings and will defend them against his critics, but am merely pointing the difference between contemporary films and traditional literature. His characters are problematic on the big screen if left unadapted, and I believe Jackson has done this and kept the essence of the story. However, to avoid the impression that I am totally uncritical of this film, I will say that Jackson has not done justice to the power of Treebeard's character as written by Tolkien. He seems to be senile at times!
TTT's epic battles are just brilliant. The Warg fight is a nice entrée, but Helm's Deep is a stunning main course. The beautifully developing friendship of Legolas and Gimli is a real high point. Of course hardened solders make jokes in the middle of battles! Then we have possibly the most spine-tingling moment of the whole trilogy, as the Rohirrim charge out of the rising sun into the massed ranks of Uruk-hai, led by Eomer and Gandalf the white rider on Shadowfax. This is the sequence in my LotR EE DVDs that gets the most replays!
Another reason this is my favourite is that it has less things to distract from plot and character development than do FotR and RotK. The homely Shire, glittering Lothlorien, the ghostly Army of the Dead, the great spider Shelob, the awful Mountain of Fire, the pageantry of the Minas Tirith coronation, and the glow of the Grey Havens do not appear. The only idyllic place, Rivendell, is a troubled memory in Aragorn's tortured thoughts. Helm's Deep at night is not the majestic site for a battle that is Minas Tirith in daylight. Don't get me wrong, I love LotR's spectacle, but in TTT the life and death scenarios seem even more fraught and desperate without the unforgettable backgrounds.
I must add a comment about the Extended Edition, to illustrate a further flaw. Unlike FotR, TTT relies on its EE to add details which make the story more understandable. Jackson unfortunately left out of the theatrical version the flashback scene in Osgiliath between Boromir, Faramir and Denethor. While this decision aided the pacing of the movie, it left Jackson open to criticism that he had thoughtlessly marred Faramir's character. This scene provides back-story explaining why he first decides to take Frodo and the Ring to Minas Tirith. The EE is needlessly essential viewing as a result, but I would still recommend it regardless, because as with FotR it does add cream to the cake of a classic movie!