The third book is hard. The temptation is to focus on the battles but in a way they are pointless: if Frodo succeeds then the worst that can happen is that Minas Tirith is lost for a while, while if Frodo fails then nothing will save the entire world. There's more to it in that we want the characters to survive to the new dawn but over all the battles are insignificent in the face of Frodo and Sam's quest.<P>So the key to the final book is characterisation: Gandalf and his roles with Denethor and Saruman; Sam, Frodo and the massive burden they carry; the overthrow of Sauron and the resulting joy; and most of all, the final downfall of Saruman and the denial of his entry into the west while Frodo is allowed to go. This last part establishes the real context of everything that went before it: it does all mean something in a bigger picture and the world is not alone.<P>Since none of this is likely to be in the film I'm not going to bother seeing it but I think those things, not the battles, are the real heart of the last book.<P>It would also be nice if an epilogue took us right through to the death of Aragorn and the final passing of the Fellowship but I'd have been surprised if anyone, let alone Jackson, would have been able to get that into a commercial Hollywood film.
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