A MASTERPIECE. Period. If you don't agree, you probably don't like pizza or puppies either.

Rating: 10/10 (20 December 2004)

Some of the comments here are frankly absurd.
You don't know why this movie is so beloved? Um, let's see.
Maybe because it's AMAZING?
The top reviewer is clearly a cynical fool. Why didn't the Eagle come and blah blah blah, and why didn't the thing just do this and save the day and blah blah...
Are you REALLY that lame? Because IT'S A MOVIE. Ever heard of suspension of disbelief? Do you HAVE any? Rings would have been pretty damn short if Gandalf summoned a frigging Eagle every time he had a problem. 95% of the stuff complained about is in the book too. And I would like to see some jack-a$$ internet monkey armchair quarterback try and out-write Tolkien.
LISTEN UP and LISTEN UP GOOD.
There is a REASON why TOLKIEN is a legend and why Rings haters are confined to unknown internet anonymity.
BECAUSE HE IS A GENIUS. And YOU ARE NOT. No one will ever give a rats a$$ about this reviewer, no matter how many inane pretentious "reviews" he collects on the flipping IMDb.
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy is clearly the finest group of films PRETTY much ever produced. It has everything-
Flawless effects and GRAND scale action. Oscar caliber performances. Brilliant scoring, editing, dialogue, etc.
An AVERAGE of at LEAST 300 million gross DOMESTICALLY for each film. And that is with a 3 hour run time, and a HOLIDAY non summer release!
Rings rules. The cool people know this. Screw the rest, they're idiots.
PERIOD.