It just keeps getting better

Rating: 10/10 (8 January 2003)

Looking at reviews worldwide, they tend to focus on all the great elements of this movie as if existing on their own. They talk about how brilliant Gollum is portrayed both technically aswell as acting-wise (which is true), or they talk about how the battle at helm's deep is the biggest battle-scene ever produced on celluloid (wich is also true). But my main praise for this movie is that it works as a complete picture, and it's sum is even greater than it's parts.
With the two towers you've got a story which is, well, a nightmare to translate to screen. No beginning, no real end, two different storylines, told in such a way that they don't seem to connect (which in the book is no problem, but it just doesn't work in a motion picture like this).

But when I look at Peter Jackson's film, I cannot see any weakness in it's story. Even though it hasn't got a real beginning and ending, it does open with a bang, and ends with a BIG bang, and the picture comes to a more satisfying conclusion than FOTR.
Next to this all the technical elements are once again flawless. Shore's score works, in my opinion, just that bit better than his FOTR score, the FX are not even in the same league as FOTR's, their waaaay above them. Acting is great once again, with special praise to the actors portraying Aragorn, Theoden and Gollum.
So is this movie perfect? Well close, in the same way FOTR was. But that's a personal opinion. I do understand that people don't like the change to Faramir's character, even though I liked them, and I do understand people don't always appreciate Gimli's humor, even though I thought it worked extremely well. Also I have to say that the ending is in some parts a tad unconvincing and unsatisfying. The way Faramir changes his view seems abrupt, and you really don't see much of the characters reactions after Helm's deep, but that is probably saved for ROTK, wich will surely be even better.....
All in all, I have to say, I DO like this one better than FOTR, because it's tighter told, has a more satisfying conclusion, is much more breathtaking, if it was ever possible, and it just flows better. But the best compliment might be; It is a perfect followup to FOTR, expanding on it, while remaining faithfull to the feeling of part 1.