I liked it! No, I didn't! Yes, I liked it! No, it was bad! ...

Rating: 8/10 (1 April 2003)

I'm one of those guys who read the LOTR around once a year and who compare the movies a lot to the book. I had some issues with the script of FOTR, but the DVD version satisfied me and cleared a lot of things up. I can safely say, that part one is nearly without blemish for me.
Well, TTT had even more plot holes and deviations from the book, which didn't work. However it also had some great elements, which made it more than memorable.
The whole Rohan-story didn't succeed in enthralling me. The audience is thrown into it without too much explanation and I never started to care for Theodred, Theoden, Eowyn and Eomer. Some scenes and lines were quite hollow and even embarassing. All those suffering Rohan women and children didn't help either.
And there are too many things left unexplained about the Ents. You never quite understand why they should go to war or why they shouldn't. Hopefully the DVD version will clear something up here.
So much for the bad things, now for the good ones, and there were a lot of them: The Frodo-Sam-Gollum part worked perfectly. To view Frodo falling to the ring - great. And what can I say about Gollum, which hasn't already been said? It's the greatest CGI-character ever, by a long shot. After his introduction you have already forgotten, that he is not for real. I even liked the Faramir-character and don't think, that he is so different from the book. He has his preferences and the well-being of Sam and Frodo is not one of the first on his list.
I also liked the intercut Elven scenes, even though they led to a conclusion I didn't like: The Elvish help at Helm's Deep. It's a 'feel good'-element, which should not have been necessary.
At last there is one single scene, which will make this movie forever special in my mind: The charge of the Rohirrim down the hill. This is pure cinematography and potentially the most moving scene I have ever seen. The makers of the movie worked wonders with scope, lights, camera movement and the music in this part. Just remembering it gives me the shivers.
The cast and the score were a notch down from FOTR, but still good. Wood and Astin got better, while I was a tad disappointed with MacKellen. Rhys-Davies was great - unfortunateley the role he was given (humorous sidekick) was not.