Finally done right! (spoilers)

Rating: 10/10 (22 January 2002)

I could go on for a long time, but the film was better than I thought possible. (How did they get all of those big people to look like Hobbits and Dwarves?!)
If you haven't seen it yet, GO!
Naturally, they couldn't put the whole book on film. That's just not possible without doing a fifteen or twenty part mini-series. Given those restrictions, they did a fabulous job. We've seen terrible adaptations before, so this version really stands out as a terrific realization of the book. I went to see it with someone who hadn't read the book and she liked it too.
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I'm glad that they made Arwen's character more visible and important in the first film. There are too few female characters in the book.

I did think that they made the Hobbits a little bit too timid. Frodo gets wounded at Amon Sul fighting the Ringwraiths, not cowering in fear. (Merry and Pippin are cowering in fear, but Sam and Frodo fight like studs.)
There were a couple of small things. They didn't spend enough time in Moria or Lorien. I thought they spent too much time at the beginning telling the audience about the Ring, but that may well have been necessary.
I wish I could give the film an eleven. It's really much better than I thought it could be. The Elves are outstanding. Gandalf and Saruman are perfect. The scenary is ideal. The music was right on the money. I even liked the Enya songs in there.

Mark