Too long by far

Rating: 4/10 (25 December 2001)

Technologically stunning and often well-acted, the movie was about an hour too long. I make no comment about the novel from which the story was taken, as I have not read it. But the film rarely succeeds in capturing any real attachment to its characters or concern for their fate. Frodo, the hobbit who is the central character, spends altogether too much time staring into space. The backgrounds, which appear to be generated by computer, are often very beautiful and reveal a vivid visual imagination. The battle scenes are likewise very imaginatively "staged." But they are so numerous and so overwhelming, both visually and sonically, that they soon become much of a muchness. I hope that the producers have the good sense to leave more of the sequels on the cutting-room floor.