Good movie; good action!

Rating: 10/10 (31 March 2002)

The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring is a great film. While a popular complaint is that it is a long, slow movie, I totally disagree with that. The film develops its plot at a good pace unlike other movies that force the entire plot(when they have a plot) down your throat. I'd compare it to Star Wars--epic, long, and fun. Hey, for the people that like LOTR(and we are lots of people), having the movie three hours long is a good thing; we get more movie for our buck! Still, I can see that people who don't like anything related with fantasy will find it boring...but what did you expect?
But, there are some great action sequences. All of the action is very well done and none of it is over-the-top violence. There are five distinct battle scences along with several other thrilling sequences and the long journey in the Caves of Moria. Some other reviewers have stated that the action/violence is too much; I would disagree with you. Without the action sequences, LOTR would be Star Wars(only the original three will do thank you very much Mr. Lucas) without any starship fights or jedi duels...the action is part of the story(without overpowering the story)?
The movie is also top quality in acting, sound, and effects. In my opinion, Boromir was the best character; he had the best internal battle: he wanted to take control of the ring to save his people when in fact he knew that it would corrupt him. Even thought he was a flawed character unlike Aragorn(cool character but not too deep as of yet), Boromir had my sympathy and I could understand his desire to wield the ring to protect his people. Sound was great...a little too much at times. And, the effects were top notch without being overdone. Unlike Star Wars: The Phanton Menace where the effects MADE the movie(actually Natalie Portman was the best effect but that's another story), the special effects in the LOTR seem to complement the story.
My only problem with the story is that it doesn't have a hot blond princess in need of rescue(LOTR is like the Chronicles without Laurana...)
SPOILERS BELOW:

Aragorn chopping the head of the bad guy was tres cool! A little Gladiator-like but wayz cool! Maybe a bit violent for the kids...
Boromir's death sequence was unbelievable(in a good way)! Sean Bean made Boromir's death seem confincing, painful, and heroic; most other heroic deaths are usually very silly but this one was "real." Why the hell didn't he get the Oscar for that?
In the screenplay when Gandalf gets dragged down the chasm by the Balrog, he says, "Fly, you fools" where as in the movie he says, "Run, you fools!" In my opinion, the screenplay gets it right!

END SPOILERS
I just hope The Two Towers and Return of the King are equally good as Fellowship of the Ring...I have no reason to doubt it!!!