sauron

ok, so rotk was an amazing piece of cinema, in the true epic tradition.........i was glad to see the eowyn's role in the battle was spotlighted......the film was much longer than it had to be for the 'non-extended' version.........if i were queen of the world, instead of just this house, i would have transfered some of the slower or redundant parts to the extended-play dvd.....the conflict between sam, frodo and gollum was important to the story, but the sight of each trying to strangle the other became tiresome rather than enlightening......also....the reunion of the remaining fellowship in frodo's bedchamber was long when you add in the overly long parting scene at the elven ship....on the other hand, i was grateful that jackson boiled down the coronation and the reunion with arwen into one big scene........the book had too many trips back and forth..........overall, i was most impressed by the battle scenes...they were true to form- incredibly brutal and yet the bravery of those fighting was palpable........the touches that jackson added...like the trolls pushing the battlement storming towers, and the wildboar-shaped battering ram that glowed with fire.....really added to the overall effect.......i am not much for battle scenes, and i will confess to turning away several times......but they were well-done just the same.........and the special effects when the eye of sauron is extinguished and the land of mordor caves in.......whoooooooo.........that was much more impressive visually than it was in the book........i must give permenent record-credit to those who lasted through the marathon viewing of all three installments..........