Visual marvel

Rating: 10/10 (17 February 2002)

The storyline in the "Lord of the Rings" is well constructed and interesting, the film is well-paced (you never get bored tho it is long), and the action scenes are well done. But most of all, it is a dazzling visual marvel.
Whether outdoors--scenes of forests and trees, valleys, streams, mountains--or in caves and the like, the visuals are superb. Color, design, intricacy, detail, contrasts. The backdrops are excellent. There are battles with monsters and things like that, but the special effects are not overdone or pompous--they work very well. A key for me here was not too much sped up action to create excess and pomposity and to have a hard time following what is going on, like in sci fi space battles or the Mummy movies or flicks like that. Indeed, not only the pace of the plot, but the action, has economy. In the outdoors, the backdrops are very pretty but for the most part realistic, but in the caves things are done up, with somewhat exaggerated or surreal colors, designs, effects.
However, there are other movies with good visuals, even tho it is difficult to think of ones that outdo this. But what sticks out most, in my mind? Not specifically the things I mentioned in the previous paragraph, but the LIGHTING. Yes, that overlaps with the other things--backdrop, colors, etc., but it is particularly this item and the obvious sophistication and care that went into it, and the resulting artistic brilliance and beauty, that make the visuals, the cinematography, so excellent in my mind. Whether indoors or outdoors, the lighting effects, the beauty, blending, and contrasts, are the highlight of the film.
10 out of 10.