I couldn't stay awake

Rating: 3/10 (13 August 2002)

I guess I just don't get the facination with this movie. I found it to be far to long, goofy, and boring to stay awake. I actually dozed off for a bit after struggling to stay awake for the middle hour. I haven't fallen asleep during a movie since the Robin William's disaster 'Toys.'
I was told before the movie that this was one of the greatest movies ever made. The Academy Award nominations further prompted my belief that this movie would be exceptional. I must have been expecting much more than I got. What I expected was to be drawn into this magical, legendary J.R.R. Tolkien universe for 3 plus hours. I had heard of the great special effects, scenery, and characters. I prepared myself to be amazed.
What a dissapointment. The characters, with the exception of Bilbo Baggins, were all one dimensional and boring. I found myself unaffected when they were in peril, since I could care less if one of them were to get offed by an inept Ork. The Orks were scary looking, but when you consider that there were probably 300 of them and they couldn't defeat the 9 in the fellowship, their bark is obviously worse than their bite. They are as inept as a Star Wars Stormtrooper. The scenery did live up to the hype, but I think it is pretty bad when you consider the surroundings and not the story as the high point of the movie. Special effects? Maybe I'm a spoiled 'Star Wars' junkie used to the Industrial Light and Magic standard that has been set. I saw nothing special in the special effects but the fireworks at the beginning of the movie.
While it may sound like I hated this movie, I didn't at all. It was an entertaining film, but I expected much more. I held this film to a very high standard based on the reviews and feedback from my peers. I don't know how this film cracked the IMDB's top 10 let alone the top 250. This wasn't even close to the best movie I've seen this month. But I will end up with the DVD as my wife loved the film. I will watch it when I need help falling asleep.