By EWAN McDONALD
(Herald rating: * * * * *)
This is pretty much the movie most of the country has already seen rather than the full-blown, check out the extra bits, hook into the DVD-rom-extras Collector's Edition that will arrive later.
This 200-minute epic is the last and best movie of the
trio, the one that ties up all the loose ends and goes a bit further, adding quite a few unanswered questions about the Hobbit way of life and death.
Frodo (Elijah Wood) and loyal sidekick Sam (Sean Astin) continue their journey to take the Ring to the volcano of Mt Doom, throw it into the lava, save Middle-earth and render the enemy impotent.
Coming along for the ride is the marvellously rendered Gollum (Andy Serkis), who was once a Hobbit called Smeagol but is now captive to the Ring.
This time around Gollum has a rival for best performance by a non-entity: Shelob, the horrible spider who traps Frodo for supper until Sam arrives in the nick of time.
But the centrepiece of this episode is the Battle of Minas Tirith, the final reckoning that will involve an army of the dead against Orcs, flying dragons, some things that make mammoths look puny, trolls, etc.
And the love story between Arwen, the half-elf (Liv Tyler), and Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen) will take a twist.
Possibly the major problem with watching The Lord of the Rings at home is that Jackson is a cinema-lover who plans, conceives, works and triumphs on a big scale. His worlds at war are diminished when they're in your lounge.
DVD, video rental Out now
