True to the book, a spectacle of film-making

Rating: 10/10 (25 December 2001)

I finished reading Fellowship of the Ring a mere 4 hours before I went to see the movie. When I finally saw the film I was dazzled - it was brilliant in every way. However, I was unable to really soil myself upon viewing - it was not that I knew the story and everything that was about to happen, but that the book was so fantastic in itself! My advice would be to see the movie, and the read the book so that you get a good feeling for everything that was left out. Still, having read the book first it was great to see the same great lines and scenes rendered into motion picture so faithfully; some of the fights may have been more drawn out for the moviegoer, but I can't complain. The beginning of the movie felt a bit rushed, but with already having +3 hours of movie, I could understand them cutting out certain parts. See this movie, again and again and again - it is worth your time. If you come out at the end saying, "Huh? What? How does it end?" then I recommend you read the books - it's going to be another year until we have another movie of this magnitude released.