The Lord of The Rings: The Return of The King

 
 Just remember, it's only a movie. With that said you have to understand PJ,
(Peter Jackson) and how he had to make it fit to cinema for avid LoTR
readers and the public at large who have never read any of the books. When
filming this epic he had to look at it from both sides to keep it flowing
and relevant to non-readers and yet not stray too far from the original
storyline so as not to upset us diehard fans. What changes there are from
the book I can live with. For the true version, I have the book to read. The
one most disappointing scene was when Elrond delivered Narsil to Aragorn
instead of Elrond's sons and the Dunedain Rangers. Looking back to the
Fellowship and Two Towers I recall no mention of Elrond's sons or of the
existence of more rangers than Strider. Thus the cinematic flow was
Elrond-Arwen-Aragorn conflict of whether or not she would remain in
Middle-Earth. So she pours her elfin magic in re-forging Narsil which ties
her to Sauron and hence the need for Elrond to hand deliver Narsil to
emphasize the need for Aragorn to succeed in the destruction of Sauron while
informing Aragorn of the phantom army in the Paths of the Dead and the oath
to Isildur. As a fan club member I have had the opportunity to read PJ's
explanations of the previous films and can related to his being on both
sides of the fence to capture views suitable to all moviegoers.  
 Another change is that the phantom army not only defeats the Corsairs but
they inhabit the ships instead of the Gondorians from the coast. It was kind
of cool seeing them sweep through the Mumakil and others on Pelenor Fields.
Yes, the Oliphants were awesome and destructive. The rock trolls at the
gates of Gondor with the ram were unnerving.
 Shelob, yes my precious we brings them to her. With Frodo stung Sam has to
do battle with the hideous beast with eight legs. This scene will give folks
with arachnophobia the creeps as Shelob moves about and pounces on our
heroes. 
 The scene with Merry and Eowin fighting against the Witch king was intense,
as Theoden lay injured, watching the battle unfold. The theater crowd
cheered when she pulled off her helm and smote the evildoer.
 There was a small change to Denathor and Faramir funeral pyre scene. It was
close to the book. 
 The Eagles! Yes, that part remained true. The dogfight in the sky between
ring-wraiths and eagles was excellent. We even got to see Gandalf riding on
Gwaihir.
 Our four friendly Hobbits are reunited and honored by the crown of Gondor,
his people and Rohanians with the company of elves who escorted Arwen to
Gondor. The wedding scene is beautiful. Arwen is radiant.
 The scouring of the shire amounts to a round of ale, no Sharky scenes
(maybe in the extended DVD). This could be due to not having time to explain
that with the rangers all off with Aragorn in the war (which wasn't in the
movie) there was no one to prevent Sharky and his thugs from entering the
Shire. So there was no need for scouring the Shire, which moved right along
to Sam marrying Rosie and so on.  
 I would recommend everyone go to see the movie and have done so to people
who have asked me how the movie was. It's eye candy for over three hours
(3hrs 20min) and I'm wanting to go back to see it again. The lines were a
little long and seating is packed, but that will thin out in time. 
 This film should get a few Oscars and many, many, many other awards. Thank
you PJ and all the actors/actresses and crew for an epic good time. Long
Live The King!
 I'll be watching the web for info on the release of the extended DVD.