An unprecedented mamoth of splendor, majesty, and magic!

Rating: Null/10 (12 January 2003)

This masterpiece film is borne out of direction with soaring passion! Period. But wait... can't help it... can't fight it... anyone who has beheld this film's beauty is sure-bound to feel the sense of pouring out a stampede of adjectives and superlatives in describing it - almost to the point of annoying exagerration and over-acting! (Such is actually evident with how I word my review, as I have so realized post-writing.)
First, is this film better than Fellowship? I'd say it's at par with Fellowship's magic. While some claim the WOW factor is absent in TTT, I beg to disagree. There are still many areas and aspects of the film that abound with it! The landscapes still wow us. The structures (Edoras, Helm's Deep) still do. The attention to details. Frodo's acting. And so on. Then, there's gollum/smeagol.
Is gollum real-like? No, conceptually. But technically, YES. The image rendering is perfect. The only thing that betrays its being real-like is that we know for a fact that no such real creature exists, or can exist. Switching this reminder off in our brains and you have the most realistic CGI creation ever made. But you don't have to consciously turn a part of your brain off primarily because the personality the creature bears will make everything feel real.
Did TTT deviate much from the book? Yes it did, on many accounts. 1st, it deviated from the Tolkien aura, for me at least. I do not think Tolkien ever intended for example, the battle to be of this magnitude. 2nd, you know the rest... (Faramir's attitude, the elves helping at Helm's deep, the Arwen Eowyn Aragorn love triangle, etc.)
Were the deviations good? Yes, they were coherent with the whole plot. They did not do damage.
My only negative comment comes in the form of a suggestion: PJ needs to develop more individual combat shoots, in addition to the collective (generalized) non-detailed combat he used most often esp. in Helm's deep. There should be more martial arts, hand-to-hand combat sequences on top of the collective combats. Ever seen how Legolas mounted on his horse? Or how the Elves shoot arrows? More of these detailed individual feats should be made.
The plot was never confusing, even for someone who has'nt read the 2nd book. But watching or reading the first movie or book is a must.
Finally, the march of the ents to Isengard as well as the Battle of Helm's Deep are spectacular. The Battle of Helm's Deep effectively gave us (in fact let us feel) the sense of the "large-scaleness" of the battle, the valor and determination of each men, as well as hope and despair.
Rating: No movie is ever perfect, even this one. With that in mind, I'll give this a 10/10.