8. Cinematography & Landscapes: Its Gorgeous
Jacksons
Lord of the Rings trilogy was at least in part a love letter to New Zealand, full of gorgeously wrought landscapes and impressively conceived vistas which have done no small wonder for New Zealands booming tourist industry, to such an extent that Prime Minister John Key has acknowledged his intent to interact more with Peter Jackson in an effort to invest more of New Zealand's natural assets in
Lord of the Rings related tourism. New Zealand is back and again transformed via the production teams vision into imagery and landscapes worthy of Tolkien's dazzling imagination. Production exceeds even the colossal heights of 10 years ago, in no small part because Jackson has reunited with key trilogy collaborators such as cinematographer Andrew Lesnie, chief production designer Dan Hennah and hordes of the same enchanters and enchantresses from Weta. There can no denying the majesty in Lesnies sweeping visuals, and key production values down to the make-up on the dwarves are simply spot-on. Just as he did 10 years ago, Jackson is pushing the boundaries of cinematography again- so expect even more astonishing spectacles in the subsequent installments (
The Desolation of Smaug and
There and Back Again) when we are set to see The Battle of Dol Goldur, The Battle for Esgaroth and The Battle Of Five Armies brought to life in spectacular fashion.