Exactly what I've been saying all these years!!!

Rating: 10/10 (19 December 2001)

For the last ten years I've been saying that Peter Jackson would do wonderful things if put behind the wheel of a 'blockbuster' movie.
To my mind, even his early exploiters demonstrated that he's one of the most imaginative and innovative film makers out there. He makes truly unique movies, has a great talent for putting money on the screen, and Heavenly Creatures went further to show Mr Jackson to be a very intelligent dramatist.
I haven't read Lord of the Rings. To be honest, I don't have much interest in Tolkein.
But this film was exactly what I've been waiting for this last decade. A Peter Jackson 'blockbuster'. What would happen? Would the money men take control of the project and leave it neutered? Would he get lost under this huge budget and not know what to do with it? Or would we end up with the diamond I'd hoped for?
I came out of the cinema gobsmacked.
Every tiny detail of Lord Of The Rings screams "THIS IS A PETER JACKSON MOVIE"
The visuals were stunning. The drama was good but not so thickly spread as to interfere with the overall pacing. We know all we need to know about the characters - enough to make us care - but Jackson never lets the movie slip into sentimentality, and for that we can all be thankful!
I had high expectations for Jackson's domination of mainstream cinema (something I really never believed would happen) and the result has far exceeded my expectations.
Great stuff!