A verbatim interpretation? No. True to the story? Absolutely!

Rating: 10/10 (21 December 2001)

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring is an absolutely wonderful interpretation of my ALL TIME FAVORITE book. Is it a verbatim interpretation? No. It would be impossible to do that with the time constraints. Three hours would barely get Frodo to Rivendell in a verbatim interpretation, which would not be enough to justify making the movie from a business perspective. I think Peter Jackson has done a fantastic job with what he had to work with.
Are there flaws and quibbles about the story? Sure there are, from a purist's point of view. I have read LOTR so many times, I have lost count. I think the meeting between Gandalf and Saruman was a bit overdone, and the existence of the Palantir at Orthanc should not have been revealed until The Two Towers, but these are quibbles about what is essentially one of, if not THE best movie ever made.