I was slightly disappointed, but it was still fantastic.
MANY SPOILERS HEREIN, PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK!!!
I think I’d read so many orgasmic reviews before I went to see it, that I set myself up for a fall.
Also, I think that this is the first one of the trilogy that I went to, when I’d recently read the book version beforehand. If I’d been less familiar with the book, I think I would have been less disappointed.
I wouldn’t be surprised if we’re in the minority, Saddy, but I too found the sentimental bits to be altogether too sentimental. And was I the only one who felt those hobbits were sometimes looking a little TOO longingly into each others’ eyes? 🙂 During the final goodbye scene, I halfway expected somebody to slip somebody some tongue!
Also, as in the previous films, I was not fond of the silly over-done ExtremeSportsFighting Legolas. Hated the shield-surfing in Towers, and likewise didn’t like Legolas sliding down the Oliphant’s trunk in King. However, after Legolas has used this maneuver to take out an entire Oliphant and it’s crew, Gimli’s response was great!
[quote]That still only counts as one![/quote]
BTW, the lava bits happened pretty much like in the book, so can’t say I was too surprised or disappointed by those. The final Grey Havens goodbye scene happened more or less like in the book too. They just skipped over/left out the Saruman-in-the-Shire part.
Some more SPOILERIFFIC observations:
I was sad there was no Mouth of Sauron in the movie. He’s Sauron’s chief spokesman, who (in the book) comes out of the Black Gate and trash-talks Aragorn for a little while, showing him weapons they got off Frodo, claiming Frodo has been captured, and telling Aragorn to give up. He actually CONVINCES Gandalf that they’ve failed, which is neat.
Also in the book, when Sauron is finally vanquished, and diminishes into the sky, there’s a brief scene where we see Eowyn and Faramir holding hands on top of a city wall in Minas Tirith, watching Sauron diminish in the distance. I missed seeing that in the movie.
Also in the book, after Eowyn takes out the Witch-king, she lies unconscious next to her dying uncle, Theoden. There is a bad-arse moment where Eomer shows up, too late. First he sees his dying uncle, then he sees his apparently dead sister (whom he didn’t even know was ON the battlefield until that moment), and THEN Eomer goes completely stark raving psycho, and leads the Rohirrim in a kamikazi charge against the remaining enemy forces. I missed seeing that in the movie. ALTHOUGH, to be fair, part of that missing scene has been spotted on some trailers. That means it exists, and likely means it will be on the extended DVD.
Also missed Gandalf’s brief showdown with the Witch-king, which can also be glimpsed in a few trailers. Another extended DVD scene, I reckon!
I was disappointed that Saruman got cut from the film. The showdown between him and Gandalf is cool. But it doesn’t bother me too much, since I know for sure that will be in the extended DVD.
I was also a bit disappointed that we never saw Denethor using his own Palantir (which is what is making him crazy), and predicting (erroniously) that the Black Fleet spelled the doom of Men. Hopefully in the DVD?
My brother and I (who saw the movie in completely different theaters, with two completely different audiences) also noticed some… err… oddly comical audience reactions to certain scenes. Particularly scenes with Denethor!
The scene where Gandalf bops Denethor in the nose with his staff got a big laugh. 🙂
And, a bit more oddly, the scene where Denethor is burning alive, and runs flaming across the courtyard and off the edge of the Tower of Ecthelion also got a big laugh! 🙂
Side note: From the coronation scene, it looks like that courtyard is as long as a football field! Dude, that is a LONG way to run when you’re ON FIRE!!!
You gotta admit, Denethor is possibly the ULTIMATE Sad Geezer!
We also noticed some amusing parallels to Star Wars. During the battle with the Oliphants, when Eowyn is riding between their legs, I couldn’t help but turn to my buddy and say:
[quote]That armor’s too strong for blasters! We have to use our harpoons and tow cables![/quote]
We then wondered if Legolas would swing onto an Oliphant with a Tarzan yell, take it over with two hobbits, then use it to sneak up behind another AT-ST… erm… I mean Oliphant, and take it out.
And then, during Theoden’s death scene, we were amazed to witness this exchange…
Eowyn (to dying Theoden):
[quote]I’m going to save you![/quote]
Theoden:
[quote]You… already have…[/quote]
To which we followed with variations of:
[quote]Help me take this mask off. I want to look at you with my own eyes.[/quote]
[quote]Tell your brother… you were riiiiiight…<dies>[/quote]
LASTLY, don’t think all my snarking means I didn’t like the movie. I still enjoyed it immensely, I still think it was a great end to the trilogy, still hope it gets best picture, really looking forward to the extended version, and already planning to see the movie again in the theater.
And now, I think we need to start a grassroots movement to pressure Peter Jackson to get to work on The Hobbit, before the two Ians get too old to do it!