"it has some interesting elements"

Rating: Null/10 (14 January 2005)

A spectacular-looking fantasy adventure with the feel of an epic, but yet missing too much to truly rate as an epic. The cinematography is breathtaking (albeit it actually mostly computer generated), the makeup is admirable and some of the set design is really good, but yet in terms of screenplay it ultimately dull. Converting the first part of 'The Lord of the Rings' fantasy novel into a film seemed to be an impossible feat at the time of the film's production, as the books were full of so many essential details that they would not be satisfying without all the content. Nevertheless the producers went ahead, trimming things here and there, creating overall a good-looking film but one in which the events are unclear and the plot is too convoluted to be understood by anyone not familiar with Tolkein's novel. The concept of character developed is abandoned in the epic swoop of the film, creating a not very involving watch. The film is very lengthy, which should not be a problem in the best of epics, but in this one it just leaves a bad taste, as there is no reason to care what actually happens. The film indeed brews a tendency to bore at times, and the action sequences are not only mindless, but are too violent for younger audiences, which is a shame as the 'The Lord of the Rings' is excellent for enthusiastic young readers. On the other hand, there are a number of positives to the film, as it is technically interesting, but that is not enough to make it a very good watch  at the most it is an above average film, because it has some interesting elements. It is just a shame that the cinematic virtues of the film were not given more justice by the screenplay. The original cut was 270 minutes, and judged on the overkill length of this version, two parts to the film would have perhaps worked better. Or perhaps Tolkein's novels would have been better untouched by live action film.