So is it? Yes it is!

Rating: 10/10 (17 December 2001)

And by that I mean that everything you have expected from the film has come true, most of the good and some of the bad. Yes, the bad, because now 2 days after seeing it there are some things that seem to keep bugging me. I didn't care about the fact that large parts of the "slower scenes" were left out, the larger role of Arwen (10 minutes of screentime isn't all that much) didn't bother me either. Both these changes made the story even more exciting so why bother. It were more the small details that were changed without a real reason tha bother me. Why let Merry & Pippin trow rocks in the lake near Moria and not Boromir, why remove the explosion (made by Gandalf) at the disappearance of Bilbo and most of all Why doesn't Aragorn carry Narsil? I don't believe that these changes really make this a better film. Not that it in in need of improvement, mind you. What I've seen was absolutely thrilling from the first apocalyptic scenes to the last, the shortest 3 hours of my life later. Most satisfying was probably the cast, Jackson has chosen the best possible actors for each role, after seeing the film it has become impossible to think of anyone else playing the characters. The one actor that springs most to mind is of course sir Ian McKellen as Gandalf but the others are equally good choices. 10/10 Casting is one thing, acting an other and here again everything works out splendidly. One beliefs the fears, the hopes, the desires of the characters even if they are forced to use a language that should feel a bit archaic. 9/10 Photography: the best ever, you have to see it to believe it: 10/10 Special effects: I could well use the previous line and be equally right but these effects have earned a bit more text. They are not just extremely well done, they actually feel right. At no point in time you go yeah right I know how it's done. Instead you have the idea that Elijah Wood is in fact 3 foot tall and no it is not a good idea to meet the Balrog after dark. 11/10 Respect for the master: this category is more or less for the Tolkien buff who wants everything to be right. Well the atmosphere is there, the main storyline is there but ... some parts are left out, this is of course inevitable but because of this i'll just give him a 7 out of 10 on this thing (still more than I expected 6 months ago) To conclude: go and see this film if you've read Tolkien you'll recognise all the works beauty and if you haven't it'll be the visit of a lifetime. By the way Sam is the servant of Frodo, just so you'll know why he keeps calling him Master "Frodo".