Definitely worth the wait!

Rating: 10/10 (20 December 2001)

It was always obvious that it would be Steven Spielberg that would make this movie. When I first heard that Peter Jackson should do it, the images that flew through my mind were hobbits mangling orcs with little lawnmowers, brain-eating uruk-hais, and alot of really weird puppets. Later, when I had given it some thought, I knew that he would pull it off, since his greatness lies in his ability to realize his visions, whatever they may be.
I love Tolkiens work. I have read the books over and over again. I have played the roleplaying game, the boardgames, seen the movies, and heard the radio theater version. It's fair to say that I waited for this movie with great anticipation. I was going to watch it with a critical eye, and totally ignore all the usual hype. Here are my takes on the film.
(Possible Spoilers Ahead!)
I was greatly moved the intro. It was fantastic. I cannot believe it is within our grasp to produce such images, but there it is. I had tears in my eyes. Then Hobbiton, I was there. It was exactly as I had imagined it. The hobbits, Gandalf, Bilbo, Frodo, they were not actors. Jackson and his crew have found a way to capture images through time and space, and shows us how it actually looked! There are no other words for it but...Magic.
And it goes on, and on, and on... The images never ends. They just gets bigger and better. Usually a movie have a few memorable moments, but this is not such a movie. This one is shock full of them! Hobitton, Bree, Rivendell, Moria, Lothlorien, Isengaard, everything is there.
Ok, I will quit this raving even though it is hard.
How are the actors doing? Well, sir Ian McKellen as Gandalf delivers a razorsharp performance, so does Christopher Lee as Saruman. Bilbo is fantastic, Frodo is totally believable, as is the other hobbits. John Rhys-Davies as Gimli is pure genius, Legolas are played by this incredibly beautiful guy whom I cannot recall the name of, Viggo Mortensen are a natural Aragorn, and Boromir is perfectly casted. The Oscars comittee will have a busy time this year.
Isn't there anything that is flawed with this film then?
Yes, there is! Sometimes the music makes me think of Titanic. Perhaps there were one or two flashbacks to scenes shown earlier that were superflous. And...*SPOILER* Glorfindel were replaced by Arwen, but then again, how would it be possible to film old Glory? I forgive them for that. Other than that, I cannot find anything negative about FOTR. Three hours seemed like 1,5, and that's a good thing, since the chairs are not always perfectly comfortable in modern theaters, to say the least. I, on the other hand, saw the movie at northern europes largest cinema, with very comfortable chairs, with my boyfriend, with a big bag hot mini-doughnuts and a few cans of cola.
If you are the least bit interested in good cinema, you should not miss this one. I give it 9,0 out of 10. Why not 10? Well, there will be two more, and when they have been released in a couple of years, believe me, it will be 10.0!