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Rating: 9/10 (10 January 2002)

Far, far better than I had dared to expect. It is one of those rare films where blockbuster action and a fine artistic vision blend seamlessly. You could not mistake this for the work of any other director than Peter Jackson - his visual style is all over the film. Excellent art direction (even if the Elven dwellings seem like cheap Charles Rennie Mackintosh knock-offs) and wonderful cinematography. Good acting (although I had a few problems with Sean Astin and Cate Blanchett) and the script is good. I've read the books and I was pleasantly surprised to see how the scriptwriters had managed to recover the _story_ underneath Tolkiens stylistic mannerisms.

In short: I liked it. A lot.