Graphics: 8.5
Well, the special effects in this movie really got it a high rating to start. The entire movie was almost in special effects. This movie deserves to get a high rating because for the battles, they used a special program, which creates each person in an individual state. Meaning that when you see that huge army of orcs, and the Rohan riders coming towards them from afar, each one of those people in there were created by themselves. By a computer, they are made to move, and act as a separate organism, not just some replica of the person beside them. Meaning that in battle they all move their own way, and they all do they own thing. The elephant things were also made very well, they looked very real, along with the other giant creatures, such as the Naz-Gul and the Eagles. The eye of Souron was made very well, and we cannot forget Smeagel who was an animated character throughout the entire Movie. They had a very nice transition in his face at the beginning of the movie from the real actor into the computer generated Smeagel. You could really not even tell the difference unless you were paying attention to the special effects like one such as I was. Also the giant spider was made very well, as it moved silently above Frodo's head, and came down to stab him. Very spider-like, the graphics animators really captured the essence of what it means to be a spider.

Sound: 9
The sound was awesome. Most movies have their own custom sounds, like this one, and that is what makes them so amazing. Telling you from experience, all movie that have sound and songs created just for them, and aren't just using hit songs off the top of the charts as their themes, will automatically make it far. Lord of the rings uses instrumentals and vocals in their music. It is quite amazing. But the great thing about the Lord of the rings music is that it can only be played to the movie. If you went out and bought the soundtrack, it wouldn't be as good. The Riders of Rohan theme is probably the best theme there is out there. Also, what is unique about this movie that hasn't happened in the previous movies is what i call, song transaction. Which is when a character starts singing, and the song continues while they show other parts of the movie. Like when Feramir got massacred, or at the end when Aragorn started singing. Great effects there, and it really adds to the mood of the particular scene.

Story: 9
You wonder why this got an 8. Well lets break it down a bit. It is worthy of an 8 because it was an absolutely amazing story. But then again if you look at the original book, you will see that they left a few things out, and that like the first 30 minutes of the movie were actually from "The Two Towers" So in terms of story, it was a great story, but it lost some points because they left so many things out, and they didn't follow too closely to the original book. The second one was quite a but shorter then the first, and the third. They could have bumped some things at the beginning of the third down to the ending of the second one, and then added in some of the things that they missed at the end of the third, like the fact the The Shire wasn't all happy and perfect then they all got back. Also i think that the ending was dragged out a bit too long. When i watched it, on several occasions after the scene had faded out people started getting up, and beginning to leave, and then another scene started No one really ever knew when the movie was going to end until is actually said "The End" But other then that it was an amazing story, and a brilliant conclusion to the epic tale.

Value: 8
The movie was great, I'm even going to see it a few more times. The value is really good on this movie. For one part because it was just so amazing and considering that the other 2 movies did so well, it really helps the image of this movie. The movie is also very good in terms of emotional, and action scenes. You want to see the action scenes again, and since the emotional scenes are so great, you just want to see those again also. There were a few things in the movie which struck a nerve, i don't know why maybe it's some subconscious thing. But i think there were like 2 one liners which struck a nerve. I want to see the movie a few more times because it's just so weird. I also want to see it again because the battles are awesome, and i can't stop watching Legolas totally 0wN~ that elephant. Gimli was his hilarious self as always. And Aragorn was just a total annihilator. It is a great movie, and depending on what kind of fan you are, you will want to watch it again. Everyone will at least want to watch it again, if not in the theatre then on DVD.

Acting: 9.5
The acting was superb. While in the battle scenes, or during the slow, emotional scenes, it takes a lot of skill to do what the actors in this movie did. Elijah Wood being one of them. With his "worried" face on all the time, he is a very skilled actor in face transitions. Now this could have been a special effect, but the ability to cry at will is also quite a nice skill that i would like to learn but all the actors knew how to do it. Each actor attributed tot heir own race, and kind. And I'm sure this was looked upon very carefully, but the Elves moved very gracefully, and slowly, the Dwarves very hard, and stubby movement, Humans just moved...well like humans, orcs moved sloppy, but strong. Everyone had their own type of movements, and characters. The camera movement also helped develop the characters. Overall there is some acting in this movie that just cannot be found in any other movie, and it was done very well. Which is why it scored such high points.

Finishing Statement: Overall Rating: 8.8
Very nice film. Awesome ending to the everlasting story. Nothing beats this trilogy. Not harry potter, not blade, and not the matrix. The matrix however cannot be compared to this since it's in it's own little league. But Lord of the rings was just a masterpiece. You should really go watch it, even if you don't like it, you should watch because you will like it after you've watched it. The people who created the movie deserve our support, and Tolkein even though he is dead is probably dancing in his grave right now because he's so happy. Obviously this movie didn't get a perfect rating, mainly because it lost points for not following the book all that closely, and the fact that it was overlapping the second book and the third, but other then that, amazing movie, with an overall rating of 8.8 which is quite hard to get at SSS Cinemas. Now go forth, and enjoy your show.