Not a patch on the books

Rating: 8/10 (26 February 2002)

Not a bad film.. just decidedly average. The film seems to gloss over all the drama, social and philosophical issues raised by the classic Tolkein novel and instead focuses on a straightforward "war movie". Still, it's entertaining enough for a few hours and as a Hollywoodised version of the book it could have been much worse. Needless to say it'll probably get showered with Oscars, but if that happens it'll say more about the dismal state of the US film industry than about this film.