12-17-2003, 09:28 AM
Mediocre in some parts, excellent everywhere else. Definitely worth the money I spent on it, and then some. Very, VERY moving throughout almost the entire movie, with only the first half hour or so truly lagging in that department. By the end, most people in the theatre were either cheering, crying, or both. I know I was moved to near-tears more times than I could keep track of (although I didn't spill any :P). A fair shake of light-hearted (and some not-so-light-hearted) humor thrown into the mix, as usual. And, of course, the immature audience laughing at Smeagol / Gollum every five minutes (and every five minutes in general, at things that half the time were meant to be SERIOUS, not funny; bleh...).
If you're a fan of the first two, you'll love this movie (aside from, again, the slightly weak / off-beat IMHO beginning; by off-beat, I mean style-wise, not story-wise). If you loved the first, but was displeased with the second, there's still plenty of meat on this bone to satisfy even the most epic of hearts. If you were more interested in the action of the second than the story, you'll get more than a mouthful of hard-core action to keep you on the edge of your seat. Plenty of suspense, drama, and action. All in all, a perfect mix for a truly epic movie, if I do say so myself. Movie was approximately 3:15, give or take 10 minutes. About as long as the others, in other words. Probably plenty of plot-holes left in, which will leave the hardcore fans griping their heads off (as usual), but all-in-all, it tied together quite nicely.
Bottom line:
Expect more of the same - epic story-telling at its best, with all the little spices Jackson threw in still remaining. This is one movie that will linger in your heart and mind for years to come, much like the original Star Wars rings with my generation and the generation before me.
If you're a fan of the first two, you'll love this movie (aside from, again, the slightly weak / off-beat IMHO beginning; by off-beat, I mean style-wise, not story-wise). If you loved the first, but was displeased with the second, there's still plenty of meat on this bone to satisfy even the most epic of hearts. If you were more interested in the action of the second than the story, you'll get more than a mouthful of hard-core action to keep you on the edge of your seat. Plenty of suspense, drama, and action. All in all, a perfect mix for a truly epic movie, if I do say so myself. Movie was approximately 3:15, give or take 10 minutes. About as long as the others, in other words. Probably plenty of plot-holes left in, which will leave the hardcore fans griping their heads off (as usual), but all-in-all, it tied together quite nicely.
Bottom line:
Expect more of the same - epic story-telling at its best, with all the little spices Jackson threw in still remaining. This is one movie that will linger in your heart and mind for years to come, much like the original Star Wars rings with my generation and the generation before me.
Roland *The Gunslinger*