Good, but not nr 3 on the all time list.

Rating: 8/10 (25 April 2002)

Let me start by pointing out that this is a good action/ adventure/ fantasy film, but it does have it´s flaws.
I read Tolkien in my teens and was really excited by the his work. I have since then read his books over again and do still find them enjoyable. I had no real expectations when I went to see the first part of the upcoming trilogy. I was at first truly impressed but I also felt that something was missing. I could just not put my finger to it.
After seeing the film I started to think about what I really thought of it. My humble conclusion was that while it is a technically brilliant and visually impressive film it lacks in character depth. If you think about you have to agree. The thing that makes Tolkiens work so much better than every other fantasy is that he gives a great deal of effort to explain and develop the characters and their motives.
I do realise that it is impossible to have long voice-overs to explain every single character that appears in the film but it also means that you don´t get the kind of emotional attachment to the characters as one would need to really feel immersed in this great tale. Now you don´t really care whether somebody lives or dies. And this is especially true when it comes to the Orchs, Saruman and Gollum.
The Orchs are reduced to a homogenous group that get killed in the dozens. It seems that these "fierce" creatures are so weak that the only way they can overpower the heroes is by huge numbers. But what I am most confused over is that Sarumans action are hardly explained. Why he acts the way he does and how it comes that he develops the way he does. And don´t get me started on Gollum. When I saw this film with friends (who have not read the books) they all wondered over what that creep was all about.

It´s not a bad film, but I think that in a couple of years it´s position as the third best film of all time will not be as obvious as it seems today.