The Lord of the Rings Movie Trilogy Review

I normally don't like trilogies and sequels, but I really liked The Lord of the Rings trilogy. I think it is one of the best movie trilogies of this decade; I thought director Peter Jackson kept the movies very close to the source material, which matters when you're adapting a book series into a movie. I mean, he wasn't fully faithful to the book, but some things don't translate well to the screen, and you have to consider artistic license when adapting the book.

My favorite character in The Lord of the Rings has to be the Dark Lord himself, Sauron. I like this character because he has many qualities of a great villain. What I like most about him is that he takes his time. Many villains will rush their devious plan because of time constraints, but since this creature is immortal, he has nothing but time to plot his revenge against the creatures that he sees as enemies. I also like that he's very crafty and convinces many diverse types of creatures to join him. I also like that he convinces a well-meaning elf to help him forge the Rings of Power; granted, we don't get to see it, but I am still impressed that he tricked an elf into forging them. I will say honestly that as I've grown older, I've been able to understand villains' motivations, and I found that in most cases the villain's story is much more interesting than the hero's.

I also like how The Lord of the Rings turns the hero trope on its head by having the main character put on the ring, which forces one of the lesser characters to attack him and take it off by force. My favorite movie in this entire series is The Lord of the Rings because I think it had the right tone. You could almost feel the tension in the air until the very end. The only part I didn't like was that Sauron was manipulating King Theoden and couldn't control anything he did — essentially a puppet. I think Sauron should have been sent to the same void as his master, Morgoth, since I like when villains can be brought back; however, that's not what happened.

Overall, I think The Lord of the Rings trilogy is fantastic, and I recommend it to anyone. Still, I would recommend reading the books before watching the movies so you have background on all the characters involved. For all of you who have seen the films, what are your opinions of the Lord of the Rings film trilogy?