now THAT'S what I call a movie !!!

Rating: 10/10 (19 December 2001)

I'm 40, have read LOTR 5 times since age 12, most recently a few weeks ago. I've waited 28 years for this film and was prepared to be disappointed. Instead, every sight, scene and sound that I imagined in my mind's eye was far surpassed by this film.
Some characters are missing, some dialogue is dropped - sometimes for no good reason. A scene or two is changed from the book just for the sake of more action. Saruman's motivation is changed, they don't get their elven cloaks, no Barrowwights, etc.
Guess what ? It doesn't matter. In fact, when you realize that 3 hours has flown by and the movie is over you don't worry about what's not in, you worry about how you are gonna wait a year for the next one. No, I take that back. I'm worried about when I can see it again. There was no way to keep everything in without going well over 3 hours - just be glad the studio let them do the full 3.
This is Braveheart, The 12th Warrior, Last of the Mohicans, Excalibur and a couple of monster movies all rolled into one. And PLEASE, see this in the best theater you can find, one with a big screen AND great sound. It needs and deserves the best environment you can find. God, just something simple like the sound of the horses was scary.
A very rare 10 from this viewer.