An unparalleled Epic

Rating: 10/10 (10 May 2020)

Because this one was built on the foundations of the first one. And it used that advantage to show all the epicism of the Tolkien story. A non-stop story (with the only exception being a sequence to reinforce Aragorn's love story). The scenes either advanced the plot at a brisk pace or were action sequences (that also advanced the plot in one way or another). There's not a lot of character development and that's not a fault. The story and characters remain PG, therefore complexity and nuance storytelling aren't the focus (there is a tiny bit more of light politics with the realms and their conflicts though).
Another great thing is that stop abusing the same resources (slow motion with no music and echo voices) in the "heart fealted moments", either because there aren't as many or because the editing changed. There is a fair amount for a 3 hour Epic, but not more than necessary, like in the first one.
Last thing that makes this movie perfect is, of course, the larger role played by Gollum's Andy Serkis, which steals every second he's onscreen. The rest of the acting is equally good than in the first movie, with a special mention for the great David Wenham (Faramir), replacing the great Sean Bean (Boromir)