Mooters' RotK reviews

[azalea]

Here's a thread for us to use to post our reviews of the movie, since some of us are seeing it tonight. I'd respectfully ask that the first person to post in this thread (after this one) be someone who has seen the movie and is posting their review.

Also, of course you are free to comment on and discuss each others' reviews here, but I am asking that debate regarding the movie be taken to the other thread I am starting, entitled "RotK: a successful adaptation?" I feel that will cut down on off topic posts in this thread, making it more readable. Thanks.
(And of course I expect other threads to be started regarding the specifics, etc., resulting in plenty of places to debate about the movie. )

[Finrod Felagund]

Wow not only did I win the tickets, but when there I won door prizes (The soundtrack, a tuque, a Gandalf Poster...)
Anyways, heres my review.


"Well, I'm Back"
Yes, the Return of the King film ended the same as the book.

But I think I'll Start with the negative.
Other than the absent Scouring of the Shire and Saruman, there were othe changes, both small and big.
To begin, Denethor's nobility was greatly reduced. Making him seem a sick old man. And not sane from the beginning. Also, his Palantir goes unmentioned.
The Dead men make a greater impact here, instead of simply helping to take over the ships, the are the force that lifts the seige of Minas Tirith, rather than South Gondorians that Aragorn picked up.
Of course, the grey company is absent for the ride through the Paths of the Dead, and Elrond brings Anduril to Aragorn (though he should already have it.)
Sadly, Prince Imrahil, Beregond and other prominent Gondorian soldiers are absent as well as is Ghan-Buri-Gan and the wild men.
Of course, the other big change is Gollum poisoning Frodo towads Sam and Frodo sending Sam away. Though it does make Frodo look less helpless (he fights Shelob), the result is the same. Sam brutally wounds Shelob and Frodo is captured.
The houses of healing are left for the EE, and Faramir/Eowyn only barely gets a nod (also reserved for the EE)
Many changes. Much evil...

Now for the Good.
The casting is of course (mostly) dead on.
The scenery and effects are bloody brilliant.
And the score is awesome.
The death of the witch king is spot on, absolutely amazing, despite the absence of the Barrow blade and a slight line change ("No man am I" to "I am no man") This scene was right out of the books.
The charge of the Rohirrim at the Seige of Minas Tirith was one of the most brilliant things I've ever seen. Absolutely stunning.
The city itself was also magnificent.
The arrival of the eagles at the Blackgate was also well done (I wasn't sure how this would play out but they did it well) and Gandalf's moth friend makes a cameo.
There is of course humour, but not all PJ's. J.R.R.'s humour is there, particularly in the scene where Gimli berates Merry & Pippin for sitting around smoking while they're out searching for them.
And, though not in the book, Gimli & Legolas continue their contest.
Shelob was frightening to say the least. And definitely not for arachnaphobes.
Aragorn and Pippin both sing. And Merry and Pippin get another drinking song at Rohan. (one about the Green Dragon)
And there is a beautiful moment where, on the mountain slope, Sam says "I may not be able to carry it for you...but I can carry you" and picks Frodo up. A real tearjerking moment.
Aragorn & Arwen share a passionate kiss (this is about the time when she was supposed to show up anyways)
The return to the Shire was amusing (the grumpy old Hobbit gives the four princelings "the look"). And the four of them have a drink in the Green Dragon, where the "Concerning Hobbits" Shire theme from FotR makes a reprise. Frodo also mentions the morgul wound. "It's been exactly four years since weathertop".
Sam and Rosie's wedding is shown, and Pippin check out some hobbit chick.
The end was almost perfect, despite the fact that the Gamgees should have been living in Bag End, it was also right out of the book.

Well, that's all I have to say now, there's more but you'll have to wait till tomorrow (or tonight if you're doing the Marathon).
Well, enjoy, I'm seeing it again tomorrow at 3:45 in the afternoon.


P.S. Peter jackson's cameo for RotK is as the captain on a corsair ship near the beginning.



Cheers!
FF
Aaron

[Artanis]

Nice read.

OK, the negative: I knew all of it already, no surprises there.

The good things are what I'm gonna enjoy in less than 26 hours!

A small thing, but - IMHO "No man am I" sound so much better than "I am no man". Brings up quite different associations.

[Lalaith]

Just came back from the cinema. And I have to admit that I am impressed. After TTT I was a bit disappointed, but not this time.

I didn't like a lot of the changes and I think some things were only mentioned to short (hard to get the point for people who haven't read the book) and some were left out.

But all in all I have a positive image of this movie. It's a good ending for a good trilogy and we can only wait and see what surprises the Extended Version will have for us.

So: Go and see it. It's worth it. If you can ignore all the little (and big changes) then you can really enjoy a good movie.

I guess my favourite scene has to be when the Nazgul and the Orcs leave Minas Morgul while Frodo, Sam and Gollum are hiding. Loved that one.

[Elenessiel]

Sometime midway through the Battle of the Pelenor Fields, I remember thinking to myself, I love this. This is absolutely incredible. And I still think that. But the ending was WAY too long.
Some thoughts:
First, my enthusiasm for the movie was somewhat dampened by an interminable ending. It's not that I think any of it should have been left out- I'm thrilled that things got wrapped up. And all the final sequences in and of themselves were very well done. But they never stopped coming. And the last half-hour or so had far too little dialogue and far too many long, significant glances.
Except that I really loved the long, significant look that passes between Frodo and Sam right after they're rescued from Mordor.
Although I enjoyed the exploration of Gollum's past, it wasn't really necessary. I would have rather devoted that time to Saruman, or the Houses of Healing.
Elijah Wood looks positively demonic on the threshold of Mount Doom. It's quite thrilling.
The dead oathbreaker army managed to be creepy, stunning, and awesome all at once. I love the appear-and-swarm tactics.
Gandalf and Pippin, in particular, have some wonderful exchanges.
Gollum driving a wedge between Frodo and Sam works out so well. This is one movie innovation that I really love.
As Mordor crumbles, it crumbles in a semi-circle, which by a strange coincidence happens to perfectly correspond with the semi-circle of Aragorn's army. What was with that?
I want an eagle army of my own.
I was a little worried about the Witch-King's appearance- but they've got the perfect headdress.
King Aragorn is well groomed. It's a shocking transformation.
Although I love the extended editions, it troubles me that fans have to shrug off inconsistencies and incompleted threads in the theatrical-release movies as holes that will be cleared up by the EEs. We shouldn't have to do that. The movies shouldn't have to be backed up by EE versions.
Bottom line: Fantastic film, but I'm not sure how many times I'll be able to sit through the ending sequences.

[Starr Polish]

Very tired, and rather ill, so I'll keep my review short and expand later.

I was not nearly as disappointed as I was with TTT. There were still some "what where they thinking?" moments (such as when Frodo abandons Sam on the stairs...Uh, okay...), but overall, I enjoyed it very much.

I cried several times, suprisingly almost as much with Pippin as with Sam and Frodo. Billy Boyd has an oddly good singing voice.

I think I can forgive this film of nearly all of its faults because of the Gray Havens scene. ::bumbling mess::

Ah...prizes! Yay! I got a lanyard, a t-shirt that says "I Survived Trilogy Tuesday", and three "official" film frames from the three films. Neat-o.

[jerseydevil]

I was waiting for R2D2 to make an appearance at Aragorns coronation - or else at the very least for Gimli to start swaying back and forth.

Again with implying that Pipeweed is pot.

I can't believe Jackson actually made Sam leave Frodo. At the most I thought Sam woudl have acted like he had left and then tag along behind. Sam would never leave Frodo.

Jackson did redeem Arwen's character somewhat from turning her into Xena-elf in FotR - but having her DYING and her fate tied to the ring. Give me a break.

Denethor setting himself on fire and then running off the causeway - that was brilliant.

I guess Sam doesn't go to undying lands - and also - I suppose Sam isn't considered a Ring bearer because he never wore the Ring.

Oh well - good action movie with the typical cry scenes and suspense (oh my god did Frodo just fall into Mt Doom??!!! )

Also - how many frigging swords do Merry and Pippin get? What happened to all their swords. Weatertop - 1st set. Gift Giving scene (EE, which yes doesn't matter - but still they were elf swords which is important) - 2nd set. Edoras and Minis Tirith - 3rd set.

Can Jackson do anymore slow motion in a movie?


There is my review as it stands right now.

[Dúnedain]

I don't think I have been so wide-eyed in a movie as I was with this. I absolutely loved it! I guess I am gifted at seeing past the changes and being able to open my eyes to a damn good movie. As I've stated, RotK was by far my favorite book so this movie had to be damn good to achieve a lot for me. It did just that, I think it was definitely the best of the series, bar none.

Just to get a couple things out of the way. The way the movie was laid out, the only two things I wish were in it (not counting the Scouring) were the Mouth of Sauron and a minor tweak to the Paths of the Dead. The way the coming to the Black Gate played out it would have been so perfect if the Mouth of Sauron was there. With the Paths of the Dead, I kept waiting and waiting for Aragorn to say "Oathbreakers!" but he never did Don't get me wrong I liked what they did with the Paths of the Dead, but it would have been so much better with that one word

Moving on from there, everything is still kinda sinking in, so my thoughts are all over the place. Every character was wonderful, the hobbits got their shining moment and were very pivotal throughout this movie. I wish Faramir was in it more, but he was great for his time in it. Theoden was awesome! At first I thought he was going to be a dick, but he was so great.

There are 2 parts in the movie that stick out as being my favorite right now. The first part is when Elrond gives Aragorn the sword Anduril. I'm not sure if anyone else picked this up, but in speaking to each other they each spoke a piece of what Gilraen (Aragorn's mother) said to Aragorn the last time they saw one another before she died.

Elrond says "I give hope to Men" and Aragorn then follows with "I have left none for myself".

I thought that was a great/perfect place for them to incorporate one of the best lines Tolkien has written, even though it was tweaked a bit

The other part was the Charge of the Rohirrim onto the Pelannor Fields. I was literally trembling when this happened. First Theoden's speech was awesome and then their charge with the camera angles and everything was quite superb.

Again, this movie brought to life so many beautiful things. Minas Tirith was simply breathtaking, there are no other words to describe it other than that. I never picture the Grey Havens to be so beautiful either. I always pictured them smaller and not as pretty, but that was wonderful too.

I feel like I am randomly rambling on, lol. Shelob was excellent as well as the Morgul Vale scene and effects. All in all I can't wait to see this movie again. I had to fight back tears in a couple parts. I had no issue with the way it ended, I didn't think it was drawn out, I kinda wished it kept going on, lol. This was the longest movie that has kept my attention the entire time. I didn't feel one instance where I was bored or anything. I was so enamored by it the whole time. It certainly did not feel like it was 3 hours and 20 minutes. I thought I was in the movie for about an hour, I looked at my watch and the movie had been on for 2 1/2 hours, lol. That's how into it I was.

Among the changes and deletions, this movie still held true to the theme of LotR's. With that, the movie was a wonderful experience, whether it was the characters, their stories or the coming to life of Middle Earth and the scenery. I was concerned the Frodo sending Sam away thing wasn't going to work, but it was damn good for something so different. I enjoyed this movie very much and cannot wait to see it again. Once I get my thoughts together I will write a better review

[Churl]

Only a very quick set of reactions, because I’m really tired: the film was amazing, incredible, mind-blowing, and every bit worthy of its hype (and then some).

Personally I loved the long series of endings that seem to be the sticking point for most casual viewers.  All that went before redefined the word “spectacular.”

I was prepared for the alterations from the text, so I wasn't as annoyed as I was by The Two Towers.  Would I have made different choices regarding the major changes?  Maybe.  But then again, I could never have accomplished 0.000001% of what Jackson & Co. did — even if I were given twice the resources that they were.

Of course I missed the obvious scenes (EE or unfilmed): the confrontation with Saruman, the Houses of Healing, the Scouring, etc.  Overall, however, I was thrilled with all that was retained.

For the record, I also love the book and have read it numerous times.  Contrary to extremist dogma, it is possible to love both the book and the films.

[IronParrot]

The Return of the King - first impressions

Context

Written right after getting back from Trilogy Tuesday - FOTR:EE, TTT:EE and ROTK screened consecutively. A second time around is immediately in order and will probably be a more rigorous analysis of the film as a self-contained entity; as with the first two instalments, the first time around involves a great deal of "adaptation baggage." It should be noted that I am currently in the middle of the longest period I've gone without reading the book cover to cover since maybe the age of thirteen, and I don't have a copy beside me, so my grasp of various details may be prone to errors. Shamefully, I can't name the other monarchs and their respective kingdoms who fought alongside Gondor at the Pelennor, aside from the odd Prince Imrahil or two.

What I liked

If there's anything I don't criticize below, work under the assumption that I loved it until I say otherwise. Keep in mind that I will not be addressing too many specific adaptation issues this post - expect them later. They're not done yet, as I have tons of analysis to get through.

Honestly, I'm so overwhelmed right now that I will not even think of attempting a bullet-point list of specific details - down to individual shots - that took hold of me. Specifics are going to have to wait, or I'll be up all night talking about how I was practically jumping out of my seat when Éowyn's Big Moment finally came; come to think of it, I've already been up all night writing this post. Let's skip to some generalities instead.

Taking advantage of the cinematic medium

This has been without a shadow of a doubt the thing about the movies most deserving of critical praise, and ROTK pushes the envelope even further. Much of it is told entirely through visual poetry - letting the images speak for themselves, often tuning out dialogue or discarding it entirely. When Frodo claims the Ring for himself, he does not give the whole spiel about how he no longer wishes to complete his task; he dangles the Ring over the fire and merely says, "The Ring is mine." (Note the lack of the exclamation mark; the facial expression more than makes up for it.)

There is a particularly impressive sequence involving the lighting of Gondor's beacons from mountain to mountain that is a direct conveyance of the film's epic scale. At the end of the day, there is no doubt that Middle-Earth is one really big place, and The Lord of the Rings is one really big story.

Concerning its handling of action: the Battle of the Pelennor Fields is cinema's new gold standard, period. Not only is it downright massive in scope, but even with all the pieces moving on the metaphorical board, it all comes together and makes sense when you break it down stage by stage, tactic by tactic. The success lies much in the precision with which Tolkien wrote the battle in the first place, but you cannot ignore the tremendous responsibility to edit shot after shot in a coherent sequential manner. It's battle choreography at its biggest and best.

What is the whole point of the movie? One could say it is to bring the "history" depicted in Tolkien's book to life. When I saw Minas Tirith besieged and lit red and orange under cover of darkness, I saw history enacted with the same authenticity, the same authority as the Normandy landings in Saving Private Ryan or that other famous cinematic cavalry charge, the seizure of Aqaba in Lawrence of Arabia. Not to sound like a Coca-Cola spokesperson, but it's the real thing.

Above any and all of the more obvious spectacle, though, is how the visuals communicate the human element of the story. The actions speak for themselves, and body language is half the message. The depth of both environment and personality embodied in the images that flash by consitute what is just good filmmaking. I point to Frodo, Sam and Gollum and every last scene that involves them.

The telling mark of a cinematic masterpiece is when the director has total control over every detail of his vision - an eye for composition and an eye for detail, down to every last shot. Given how this was conducted in the first two, seeing it again in number three is no big surprise, but this one overloads the senses and shouts, "This is art." The distinctive feature of The Lord of the Rings is that among box-office blockbusters, it's that rare piece that stays focused on critically assessable and laudable values of precision filmmaking. ROTK takes this idea and runs with it. It's an art piece.

[IronParrot]

Impact on and cohesion within the "trilogy"

Now that the film known as The Lord of the Rings is complete, it's important to look at how some dangling questions from the first two parts are answered.

As predicted, it does indeed turn out that the detour to Osgiliath in The Two Towers was a segue to the Nazgul pursuing Faramir all the way to Minas Tirith. That was the justification I was waiting for, and it played out just as it should have.

Seeing all the films in one day really highlights something: how the principal characters change from the moment they enter the picture to the moment they exit. Despite the omission of the Battle of Bywater, Merry and Pippin really come full circle in this one, showing once again that a lot of the characterization gripes we all heard two years ago were premature. The context of a complete trilogy has been demonstrated as clearly necessary for a decent analysis. On a more general level, what really makes this work is that the way these characters get from point A to point B is a seamless progression free of anny overt spontaneous leaps. That's what makes them feel like real people.

There is one area where ROTK feels more stand-alone than integrated into the entire body of work: there is a fair bit of flashing back to scenes in the first two films. The problem here is that by taking a few seconds of Boromir being shot or Frodo being stabbed by the Witch-King and replaying them out of context, you lose the build-up that made those scenes so dramatic in the first place.

But on the whole, The Lord of the Rings stretches its legs for a good eleven hours and is bar none the most fulfilling adaptation of written literature to film that I've seen, in terms of both depth and breadth. The closure provided in ROTK really hammers this in - and sadly enough, its stellar complexity by filmic standards is sometimes pushed aside by juxtaposition with the book, from which it was necessarily simplified. There's so much going on here, and it all comes together.

"Save it for the DVD" Syndrome

I'll first discuss this in terms of overall pacing, rather than the nitty-gritty of the adaptation decisions themselves.

The first two films, in their theatrical forms, took some pretty hard hits from time constraints and editing choices. After watching the Extended Editions (sans the fuss of changing discs), it is increasingly evident that some of the reinserted material felt indispensible. In Fellowship, the major point of contention was the compression of Book I - that is to say, the somewhat frantic pacing up to the arrival at Rivendell; completely forgiven. In Towers, you had the theatrical version expand III.6 and III.7 considerably, but shafting the Ents and saving a good chunk of both Book III and IV for later. The Return of the King is far closer to Fellowship in terms of how the theatrical version feels - that is to say, almost everything was there, but at times it bordered on rushing.

Case in point: Denethor. Brilliantly portrayed, spot-on insane - but not given nearly enough screentime. This seems odd considering that Denethor's major scenes (V.1, "Minas Tirith" and V.7, "The Pyre of Denethor") are in the film, and he is given a particularly good scene where he voraciously devours grapes while Pippin sings for him and Faramir has just been sent out on his second charge. The suicide scene, on the other hand, feels like it begins and ends all too quickly. The fact that he realizes what he has done to his living son and runs off and jumps is not the problem. The problem is that his big scene is lost in the midst of the battle.

However, it should be made clear that this was a very tightly paced film, and was a literal edge-of-seat experience for 200 minutes that felt more like 150. It does not slow down, and it does not feel long. It's wall-to-wall Tolkien, and that is not a bad thing.

ROTK may be the most successful of the three instalments in terms of not feeling harmed by its time constraints; but as with the first two, it has clearly set itself up to be a case where the DVD edition can and will eclipse the present cut for good. There are too many things that everybody knows were shot but mysteriously absent - the Mouth of Sauron, Merry being made Théoden's squire, and at least one Gandalf-Nazgul confrontation - that ensure this will not end up being the preferred edition.

[IronParrot]

Editing issues II: the denouement

In a word, long. In a final analysis, however, it's hard to perceive how it could be any shorter and be at least plausibly satisfying.

We have a four-stage ending:
1. Rescue by Eagles, last gathering of the Fellowship
2. Aragorn's coronation
3. Return to the Shire:
- a) Drinks at the Green Dragon
- b) Rosie's wedding
- c) Frodo feeling scarred and finishing his part of the Red Book
4. The Grey Havens and "Well, I'm back"

This is already pared down from what Tolkien wrote, obviously. All of the above were also necessary, though the overt wedding of Sam and Rosie in 3b) was perhaps excessive, and felt like Extended Edition material despite being a very brief sequence. This is evidently going to be the fulcrum of contention, the make-it-or-break-it point for general audiences - but it's just something intrinsic to the story.

This is already the case even without the Houses of Healing, an explanation of why Éowyn and Faramir appear as a couple in the coronation scene, the funeral of Théoden, the various amnesties and land redistributions, Éomer's succession to the throne, et cetera. It's hard to imagine what a conventional audience would think of that.

One thing, though: it ends exactly where it should, exactly how it should.

In a nutshell

Look, what can I say? I loved it. I was gripped by every scene, even the more surprising ones. But at the same time, this complete admiration comes with some reservations associated with the knowledge that there's an Extended Edition to come. That does not preclude this film from being a dream come true.

This is not the full extent of my comments on this movie. Expect more.

[Falagar]

I wrote a very extensive review, unfortunately in Norwegian. Perhaps going to translate it later. Gave it a dicethrow somewhere between 3 and 4 (closer to 4 than 3 though).

For those of you who read Norwegian (read: Artanis ), you can find it here:
http://www.tolkiens.net/forumet/view...?p=42318#42318

[Turambar1982]

won't say much now because i'm just dang tired
hope to write more when i caught up on sleep

just this one now:

I LOVED IT.

it was the best of the trilogy and the best movie i've ever seen.

[Artanis]

Nice review and nice site Falagar, and your inbox is full.

[Falagar]

Not anymore.

[jellyfishannah]

Ok. First let me complain.
Well, it was mostly little things. Stupid little things. I thought the acting, overall, was very, very good. (as always was) BUT...Legolas was an idiot. I'm sorry fangirls, he just didn't have the same appeal as in the other movies. He was an incarnate Pantene Pro V commercial. (you will hear this a lot from me) They give him hardly ANY lines. And the lines he does have sound like cheap poetry. He's always got this faraway look in his eyes and is always so calm...ugh. I liked him in the last one, 'cause he was starting to seem more...more human. I like the human part of elves. Instead of making them look like gods on earth. Anyway...his one peice of action was completely fake and stupid. (At this point, I turned to my brother and said "Hey. Well, this proves that not only men came from monkeys." ) It looked like tarzan. Middle-Earth is not the matrix. An elf cannot do all that junk that our buddy, CGI Legolas, did. Which brings me to another point.
The Oliphaunts. A complete failure. Oliphaunts are supposed to be regular elephants. It should at least not me so huge as to be able to carry a city on it's back! I always hated this. And then the new rhino thingys was just to much to bear. Anyway...back to characters...
Aragorn...Very cool. Always one of my favorites. But doesn't he get a bit dorky towards the end? Well, the coronation, at least. He sounds like he just won the Miss America beauty pageant. (sp?) That wasn't anything, though.
Gandalf really bothered me. As he could ride out and flash his little magic staff thingy in the enemies' eyes and the next moment he doesn't have enough power to light a beacon. And has to resort to bopping people in the face with his staff!! (though by that time, I was really hoping to see Denethor wacked with a staff) Another thing is, when Gandalf rides out to bring Faramir and his men....Why does he take Pip with him?
I liked Pippin singing. Very nice voice. Thank you, Billy Boyd!

Arwen. Yuck. I loved Xena-elf. At least she was cool. The way she and Aragorn meet and the end was so stupid. I have to say. If I were 3,000 (or however many) yrs old, I wouldn't act like such an idiot. Giggling and him twirling him around like some...cheeesy...ugh.

The absence of the scouring of the shire was very painful. I missed that the most, I think. Along with the houses of healing. The way they come back in the book is so much more glorious. I wish PJ could've portrayed it on film. Wormtongue was played so perfectly by Brad Dourif. Genius. They could've made the movie much fuller with that part in it.

Who said the grey havens were good? I don't know, but that's not at all how I imagined them to be. Galadriel's endless smiling really got on my nerves. It didn't even look like Cate Blanchett anymore. Maybe they made their own cgi version 'cause she couldn't put up with the butchering of this classic either?confused:
This was the part where I was sure they'd go Evolution (anybody ever seen that movie?) and make it into a hair care commercial.
That part did not make me cry as I predicted. I cried at a different part, though. The part where Sam says he would've married Rosie. So sad...

Well...along with the ceaseless bright whites in the movie that really annoy me and some other junk that I cannot now remember....these are my complaints. I will have good things to say on my second viewing. That's how it was these past two years, too.

As a whole, I really like these movies...

[jellyfishannah]

Originally posted by Dunedain
There are 2 parts in the movie that stick out as being my favorite right now. The first part is when Elrond gives Aragorn the sword Anduril. I'm not sure if anyone else picked this up, but in speaking to each other they each spoke a piece of what Gilraen (Aragorn's mother) said to Aragorn the last time they saw one another before she died. Elrond says "I give hope to Men" and Aragorn then follows with "I have left none for myself". I thought that was a great/perfect place for them to incorporate one of the best lines Tolkien has written, even though it was tweaked a bit
The other part was the Charge of the Rohirrim onto the Pelannor Fields. I was literally trembling when this happened. First Theoden's speech was awesome and then their charge with the camera angles and everything was quite superb.

These are very good scenes. Especially the Rohirrim charge. I did notice the dialogue between Elrond and Aragorn. In fact, I memorized those lines a few years ago. I liked how they sounded. :P

[Dúnedain]

Originally posted by jellyfishannah
Legolas was an idiot. I'm sorry fangirls, he just didn't have the same appeal as in the other movies. He was an incarnate Pantene Pro V commercial. (you will hear this a lot from me) They give him hardly ANY lines. And the lines he does have sound like cheap poetry. He's always got this faraway look in his eyes and is always so calm...ugh. I liked him in the last one, 'cause he was starting to seem more...more human. I like the human part of elves. Instead of making them look like gods on earth. Anyway...his one peice of action was completely fake and stupid. (At this point, I turned to my brother and said "Hey. Well, this proves that not only men came from monkeys." ) It looked like tarzan. Middle-Earth is not the matrix. An elf cannot do all that junk that our buddy, CGI Legolas, did. Which brings me to another point.
The Oliphaunts. A complete failure. Oliphaunts are supposed to be regular elephants. It should at least not me so huge as to be able to carry a city on it's back! I always hated this

Just to combat your points. Legolas barely speaks in the books as well...

Oliphaunst ARE NOT supposed to be regular elephants. Tolkien describes them just as they were in the movie, with carrying cities on their backs...

[Sylvee Estel]

Wow. What a movie. I cried throughout almost all of it...
It kept me on the edge of my seat for the whole time, and I loved every minute of it. That is the best movie I have ever seen.

I had a couple problems though... first, the Frodo against Sam thing. Although it was a very tear jerking and powerful moment when Frodo told Sam to go home, I don't think I liked the whole thing.
Also... my biggest complaint... no Eowyn and Faramir. I thought that definately should have been in there.. they could have found time. Hopefully it will make it on the EE.
I didn't mind the never ending ending, but I kept thinking it was over. Each time I got a pleasent surprise when they came back on...
There were some extremely amazing, powerful, wonderful, and spectacular moments in that movie. Eowyn and the witchking... Sam saying he wanted to marry Rosie, Shelob... I could go one forever.
I had expected this movie to be the best movie... and it was even better. I can't wait to go see it again!