The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)

Rating: 8/10 (12 January 2012)

I was rather surprised and saddened to see that some of the lustre has worn off. Too much of it silly, overwrought, tedious or logically inconsistent. The Nazgul and Uruk-hai that we're constantly being told are the most fearful, awful things ever are laughably ineffective and incompetent. And the less said about Gimli's comic relief, the better. But I won't dwell too much on the negatives. It remains possibly the most impressive production ever, and the very definition of "epic". Some of the casting choices are drop-dead perfect, and the characters of Gandalf, Aragorn, Galadriel and the four hobbits still resonate. The visuals are stunning and there are moments that still produce thrills. Nonetheless, I couldn't help being a bit disappointed that the film didn't enchant the way it did on that midnight screening 10 years ago.