SO I SAW THE RETURN OF THE KING this afternoon. I don’t want to spoil it, but I liked it a lot: more than The Two Towers, though perhaps not quite as much as The Fellowship of the Ring. As with The Two Towers, there were some plot liberties taken that didn’t seem to advance the story, and if fictional characters could sue for libel, Denethor would have a case.

There were technical glitches, including some audio dubbing problems (minor, but I sure noticed), that surprised me. There were also way too many trailers including a commercial for a reality TV series featuring Donald Trump that looks, er, unpromising to me — which probably means it will be a huge hit.

On the other hand, while Viggo Mortensen may be a twit in real life, he sure can act. And the trailer for his next film, Hidalgo, shows him playing a very different character very convincingly. (You can stream previews at the link above and see for yourself; the one I saw is “trailer two.”).

The film was very long, but it didn’t seem that way, it seemed too short. I suppose that’s high enough praise right there.

UPDATE: Captain Ed loved it, while Occam’s toothbrush says “get an editor.” Lots more reviews at BlogCritics.