a VERY satisfying film...

Rating: 10/10 (25 December 2002)

the second part in the trilogy picks up from where the first left off, and i liked peter jackson's decision not to include any sort of retrospective of the fellowship of the ring. it wouldn't have felt right, and who didn't see the first movie anyway? that having been said, the movie does do a wonderful job of translating tolkien's novel to the screen, with some largely excusable (forgive me, lotr purists) alterations. cinematically, it largely works, though the relentless pace can get a little confusing. but the director had the difficult task in this movie of fusing together three independent storylines, and he manages it pretty successfully in the end. the casting was inspired. the actors all get into their characters and are really fun to watch, especially, of course, the one who doesn't appear on screen at all - andy serkis, who was digitized into the creature gollum on screen, turns in a simply remarkable performance as the schizophrenic gollum. the scenery and backgrounds are stunning, the battle scenes are choreographed to perfection, and above all, the movie manages to capture the essence (and not every nuance, but i'm sure the author would have understood) of the lord of the rings. the timeless struggle between good and evil, light and dark, free will and slavery, it's all there, larger than life. this is a movie that will remain with you for a long, long time. go ahead and watch it in theaters while you still can.