Daniel Cann

This eagerly anticipated entry in the hugely popular series will no doubt thrill hard-core fans. Like the others Middle Earth is brought to life thanks to the spectacular cinematography of the New Zealand locations. The costumes and make up together with mostly seamless CGI all contribute to an organic looking fantasy world.

The plot centres (for those of you who have been on another planet for the last couple of years) on the former members of the Fellowship of the Ring relieving the besieged Kingdom of Gondor and preparing for the final battle with the forces of darkness whilst Frodo and Sam approach the daunting Mount Doom to destroy the one ring.

The treacherous Gollum is back, excellently brought to life by CGI and the wonderful performance of Andy Serkis. We learn his true nature in a shocking flashback and in his actions in this final entry. New cast members include Denethor the Ward of Gondor and father to Boromir and Faramir, played with wide-eyed and disturbing gusto by John Noble. There are also new orc commanders that our heroes must face and there is an even greater sense of them being up against the odds.

The battles of Pelennor Fields, Minas Tirith and the Black gates provide fantastic spectacle. It is as if everything has been building up to these final epic scenes and the charge of the Riders of Rohan is what cinema was created for. The battles in this film top anything that has gone before. With terrifying creatures like the nazgul, the Witch King, Shelob etc there is no shortage of ferocious adversaries and the first two hours pull out all the stops to thoroughly entertain the audience.

The problem with this third and final entry through no fault of its own is that the source novel upon which it is based has a meandering ending that was always going to provide a headache for a film adaptation. Peter Jackson valiantly does his best and excises whole sections to provide a more succinct tidy ending, however, to non-initiates of the book, this films last half hour or so will feel like a series of endings. It does drag, which is a shame and definitely spoils the overall effect and power of the film. But it was always going to be a hard sell. This quibble aside, the film delivers and will go down as one of the most thrilling pieces of cinema in years.

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