Left me breathless and speechless

Rating: 10/10 (23 December 2002)

Warning: May contain VERY minor spoilers
This movie literally left me unable to catch my breath and unable to talk about to anyone who hadn't seen it. I saw it with a large group of friends and we were talking about it for a long time afterwards, but when I got home and my parents asked about it, all I could do was make a series of grunts to indicate I couldn't describe it yet. It needed to all sink in. After more previews than I've ever seen in one movie, it began. There was no recap, I was glad I'd recently re-watched LOTR: Fellowship SE on DVD, but the lack of a recap doesn't hurt the movie and serves to quicken the pace because that is truly what this movie is about: a faster pace. From the first scene of Gandalf and the Balrog to the final scene of...well that would be a spoiler, wouldn't it? This movie grabs you and doesn't let go EVER. At no point was I sighing and saying "Come on! Come on! MOVE!!" The only time I checked my watch was in distress because there wasn't much of the movie left. This whole cast amazed me in the first movie. Everyone seemed like they were born to play the roles, although if you check the trivia section of the site, you'll see that Viggo Mortensen was not the first, or even second choice of Aragorn. The second movie doesn't add many major characters, save Gollum and Theodred, but everyone is perfect, especially Gollum. Andy Serkis captures the voice and movements of Gollum PERFECTLY and to a tee. The special effects crew who created the CG "skin" for Serkis did an equally amazing job, making a CGI that was not only believable but able to express immense emotion and blend in almost seamlessly with the world around him. The battle of Helm's Deep was the most intense combat experience I've ever had at the movies. The battle rages for about 45 minutes and never drags. It amazingly incorporates computer effects and blends them with live actors, much like the first did with the battle at Mount Doom. The Ents are another amazing piece of CG work. Now, these are not so much complaints as they are observations. For book purists, this movie may disappoint. It's not faithful to the book in MANY places, but it never truly hurts the movie. They added something here, took away something there, changed this around and in the end, it is rather different but that does not mean inferior. Quite the contrary, I was happy to see the Wargs return for a scene and thought it was tastefully put in. In the end, this movie is truly a successor to Fellowship in every way. It is an amazing achievement and is sure to become a classic movie in years to come.