Magical, but No.1??!!!!

Rating: Null/10 (27 December 2001)

Am I the the only person on the planet who thinks that Elijah Wood was extremely dull? He had no presence whatsoever, and while I know that Frodo wasn't supposed to be the most charismatic character ever, a bit of fire wouldn't have gone amiss. Yeah, I know he's got lovely eyes, but looking like a hobbit does make a great performance.
And what on earth did they spend so much on prosthetic feet for?!! I know that it indicates an admirable sense of detail for the source work, but how many significant shots of feet did we get?!!! They should have saved the pennies to improve some of the diabolical FX shots (frequent occasions where actors were so obviously superimposed in front of scenery) which really were not good enough for the 21st Century, and stuck out like a sore thumb, especially when compared to the rest of the CGI, which were frequently breath-taking.
Most of the film's acting is excellent, and the cinematography and scenery frequently stunning - I loved some of Jackson's long sweeping shots, which were almost dizzying on occasion. It's also very dark and scary in places - the horses and orcs in particular gave me the willies (to quote Slartibartfast - was Gandalf based on him or what?!), but some of the battle scenes certainly suffered from over enthusiastic editing, but this seems to be a trait of many modern films - everything from Gladiator to Planet of the Apes - chopped to almost a lightning blur.
I've been a fan of Jackson since Bad Taste, and he's done a very very good job with this film, but not a truly GREAT job. I love what he's done, and would recommend it to EVERYONE, but let's keep things in perspective - this is no Godfather or Star Wars.