One of the best films of 2001

Rating: 8/10 (6 April 2002)

My rating: 8 out of 10
I must admit, I was a tad wary about seeing this movie for I am not very fond of the fantasy genre. But I gave it a shot and just recently saw it in the theatre and was left speechless. This has easily got to be one of the best films of 2001. There are so many wonderful things to say about it but I'm not sure where to begin. The special effects were simply astounding--the best I've seen in years, the cinematography was extremely impressive, the acting was superb and flawless (McKellen was badly cheated at the Oscars), and the musical score was gorgeous. It is so sad to see that it only won 4 Oscars out of 13 (especially losing to "A Beautiful Mind" for Picture and Adapted Screenplay). This film ranks up there with "Gone with the Wind," "E.T.," "Apocalypse Now," and "Casablanca." Unfortunately, I do have one little complaint. For some reason, an idea has materialized that in order to make an epic film, it HAS to be 3 hours of length or longer. Why filmmakers hold strong to this philosophy, I do not know. There were some scenes that just seemed to badly drag. For example, there is somewhat of an "intermission" between the two climactic parts of the film that just goes on and on. Had it been trimmed, it would not have affected the film in any way. Further down the line, all the combat scenes become a tad mundane and could have easily been shortened. And in the final combat scene, it takes like 10 minutes for a character to die and I got the feeling that I was having emotion that wasn't there shoved down my throat. About 5 minutes into all the grief that this character was doomed, I was saying to myself, "Will you just DIE already?" However, these problems are strongly offset by the rest of this spectacular film and appear miniscule in the long run. I recommend LOTR very highly. It is truly a wonder to behold and will not be forgotten anytime soon. I rate LOTR:TFOTR as a 8 out of 10