Part of the Greatest Story Ever Told

Rating: 9/10 (4 October 2008)

I truly believe that 'the Lord of the Rings' is one of the greatest stories ever told. The tale of Frodo Baggins and the ring of power continues in the second part of the trilogy, where Frodo and Sam are continuing their relentless quest to Mordor to destroy the ring, only to be joined by the sinister yet pitiable creature known as Gollum. Meanwhile, Merry & Pip try their hardest to escape from the evil orcs who captured them at the end of 'The Fellowship of the Ring', whilst Gimley, Legolas and Aragorn meet a king and immediately sense something is not right. Old characters return and new ones are introduced as the tale of the Ring grows closer to it's end.
The extended edition is far superior to the original, though the amount of time it takes to watch borderlines on ridiculous. there are many (necessary) explanations and more focus on various story arcs. I was especially pleased at the extra focus on Arwen and Aragorn, one of the main stories to hold my interest.
As with the 1st of the films, each shot, every scene is spectacular to watch, and as the viewer you never question the integrity of this fantasy world - for a few hours you truly are transported into this world, the characters do exist, the elves, dwarfs, orcs, ents and hobbits are all real. The soundtrack is breathtaking and the acting is superb - the characters all look and sound the part and the script is infallible. I don't really have any complaints, except (as I mentioned earlier) for the length of the film, but as this is the extended edition, and that no matter how long this film is it never once feels boring, all is forgiven on my part and I sincerely look forward to watching 'the Two Towers' again. This is how film adaptations from books are meant to be done. Those responsible for the Harry Potter and Narnia films would do to take heed and learn from the master.