It was a great film...made even better by my son's enjoyment

Rating: 9/10 (25 December 2002)

I won't go into great details about all of the aspects of the film. I found it extremely enjoyable - and not having read this book or The Return of the King I was somewhat apprehensive that I'd feel lost. That wasn't the case at all - I was engrossed for the entire three hours, and I particularly enjoyed seeing the further development of characters not given much screen time in the first film - particularly Legolas and Gimli. I found the characters of Merry and Pippin to have grown tremendously, as well. The absolute best part of the experience for me, however, was going to see the film with my husband and two boys, ages 16 & 12. Our twelve year old read the book this past Summer and was really excited about the film going in. For the entire three hours he stayed literally on the edge of his seat - I'm not sure his back ever touched the chair. The look on his face and his body language spoke volumes - this film (as well as FOTR) will hold forever in his memory as great movie experiences. And that alone made it well worth the time spent and the price of admission.