On the mark!

Rating: 6/10 (19 December 2001)

It was with more than a little trepidation that I sat down to watch this latest adaptation of the greatest book I've ever read. The trailers and commercials had made me very nervous. It looked like it might be a modern action adventure flick with lots of smart aleck lines and cartoon violence (never mind a plot or drama!) but I was wrong thank the Vala! Indeed it was true to the spirit of the book very much of the time and all the alterations and variations were generally necessary and well integrated. Thankfully a good bit of Tolkien's classic dialogue was incorporated. (Alas, some of the Alas' and ere's seem to have been dropped) The weakest part of the film was where they had cut out the chapters of Bombadil. The lack shows. Between the Shire and Rivendell are the poorest scenes. Also the action scenes were all vastly amplified and elaborated upon which I am somewhat ambivalent about. The action comes in books II and III! But enough nit picking! It was awesome. I could go on with further superlatives but you get the idea. :)