Everything that Harry Potter isn't

Rating: 8/10 (9 June 2004)

I know, I'll probably make some Harry Potter fans mad, but that's what I think. Don't get me wrong. I liked the Harry Potter films. They were enjoyable. And that's all they were: enjoyable. (So far I've only seen the first two.) They were essentially copies of the books, and not films on their own.
But Lord of the Rings is something else. It stands on its own as a film. It isn't just a recreation of the book. I must admit, the first time I saw the film, it was a tad boring. However, I think that it grew on me, and now I see just how good it is.
There are some flaws in the movie. Some of the sequences feel rushed (even in a nearly 3 hour movie). Also, while Frodo, Gandalf, Saruman, Strider, and the other hobbits are introduced well, Gimli, Boromir, and Legolas seem thrown in. We have little idea to the motivations of them entering the fellowship (although with Boromir, that is revealed later).
Unlike the Potter films, it doesn't feel like an overlong commercial. The point seems to be the film itself.
Middle Earth looks fantastic. WETA does an amazing job with what they have to do. Acting is superb, especially from McKellan as Gandalf (but then, that probably goes without saying).
Overall, I give it 8 stars out of 10, 9 originally, and minus 1 for boring me when I first watched it.