I went to see Lord of the Rings III this afternoon (and wouldn't it be great if they called it that?). It's a mammoth and sprawling film, and probably not quite as good as the first two (LOTR II was the best for me, but LOTR I was also remarkable because one had no idea what to expect), but still hugely enjoyable, especially when you consider that it's about orcs and dragons and little blokes with furry feet. The fact that one can suspend one's disbelief is the most remarkable thing about it.
It does go on too long though, to the extent that the biggest laugh of the afternoon (in a film that is admittedly not overladen with gags) came thanks to the many apparently perfectly good endings that turn out to not to be the finish after all.
As a boat containing many of the main characters disappeared into the sunset a section of the capacity Leicester Square audience began to applaud (never sure whether this is acceptable behaviour in a cinema), registering their delight at all three films I would imagine. But the film wasn't over, there was an extra scene. Given that the main action had culminated about twenty minutes before and we'd all been in the cinema for approaching four hours, this mistimed applause was fairly amusing. And the cinema filled with laughter.
It went on for so long that it was hard to believe that it was finally over. I was expecting a caption saying "Twenty years later" and for the action to pick up again. It would have been worth it for the laugh.
Given the success of the trilogy, if I had been Peter Jackson I would have added an extra final scene of Sam being shaken awake by Frodo, who would say "Sam, we've found another One Ring. We've got to do the whole thing again." Room for a sequel.
