BEST FILM EVER?? WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU SMOKING???

Rating: 3/10 (30 December 2001)

Look, I think this is a decent film. The scenery beats out the acting by a long shot, and it really doesn't have anything in common with the book aside from the Title, and Arwen (What the hell was that all about???) needs to be relegated back to her three lines from the text. Actually - as a movie based on quite possibly the most popular fantasy series ever, this thing is abysmal.
The two major themes in Tolkiens Major Opus were 1) Overcoming Temptation and 2) Good will Triumph - so Relax and have fun! These have been removed completely and without regard to the greater story so far as I can tell. I can deal with Aaragorn's sword being in the museum at Rivendell, or the lack of explanation to the Fellowship, but the plot to these books is sacrosanct if you're going to make a movie about them. One of the greatest moments in the book is the Ford of Rivendell - and probably the most misconstrued in the movie.
The Black Riders were trying to SEDUCE Frodo to Sauron's side at the Ford. To draw a parallel to another movie - this is the scene in the Emperor's Throne Room in "Return of the Jedi" where the Emperor and Vader try to convince Luke of the great perks of the Dark Side. Imagine how compelling that same scene would have been if all the Emperor did was screech and Luke was unconcious. WHERE IS THE TEMPTATION? WHERE IS THE OVERCOMING OF THE FLESH in search of something greater? I'll tell you where - it was sold out in Liv Tyler's Salary. All through the movie, the moments where Frodo was supposed to be tempted - his will was supersceded by the will of others trying to "protect" him. On a side note about temptation - what was Peter Jackson DRINKING when he agreed to that monstosity in Lothlorien???? I agree with the Dwarves - the woman is a psychotic bitch!
To the second point - NOWHERE in this movie is the joie de vivre that Tolkien crafted into the Hobbits. Every single person in the entire three hours looked p***ed off or terrified. What message of Hope is THAT? There are two ways to look at the Christianity that molded the books - either that Satan is trying to destroy us and life is just a losing battle with Sin, or that God is in control you can relax and enjoy the happy moments. Tolkien took the Optimistic approach. Jackson took the bleak one.
This thing was a major disappointment and dare I say it a blasphemy against the works of Tolkien. As a movie - any old movie - it's better than most, but the obliteratingly depressing mood and just rediculously gratutitous violence is unecessary and detracting. The fighting is not the main point of the story - and neither is the fear and hopelesness. The scenery is breathtaking. Basically - everything up through Bilbo's Party is great - everything after is fecal matter.