Captivatingly imaginative!

Rating: 9/10 (19 December 2001)

*Note: *SPOILERS* abound throughout this post, but many of you have already read the books, so it only matters to those who haven't.
Okay, I have to say that my favorite movie of this year was not unseated. What I will say is that I now have a second favorite movie this year. LotR was pretty damn good and worth seeing, despite its over-ambitious pace and washed-up cast.
First of all, the good. Ian McKellen was tremendous. He steals EVERY scene he's in. His wizard was so believable. Near the beginning, when Bilbo is contemplating keeping the ring for himself instead of passing it on to Frodo, McKellen really shows why he's been dubbed Sir Ian by the queen. As Magneto, McKellen wasn't given the chance out-act his coworkers because of the shoddy script, but he has many lines and stands as the most important, best acted character in the movie.
Elijah Woods' portrayal as Frodo is decent. He's shown up by John Rhys-Davies and Billy Boyd (two of his Hobbitt friends) though. Sean Astin's Samwise Gamgee was really disappointing, however, and proves why Astin hardly makes any movies anymore; he can't act very well. Astin and Woods spend most of the movie crying or whining about something, as do Boyd and Rhys-Davies, but at least the latter two are hilarious.

Upsettingly, Cate Blanchett and Liv Tyler weren't given enough screen time to do anything with their characters. This was one of the biggest shames. Tyler's love scenes with Viggo Mortensen's Strider were touching and believable. Blanchett, as an Elf queen, is absolutely beautiful. She is the most beautiful on-screen actress in recent memory. Too bad the girls didn't get much screen time, but perhaps we'll see them in the next two movies.

Sean Bean (Boromir), Viggo Mortensen (Strider), Orlando Bloom (Legolas), and I believe Andy Serkis (Smeagol) were great. Next to Gandalf, they were the best characters in the movie. I hope for big things out of each of their characters in the next movies (except for Bean's Boromir, who dies heroically).
Most reviewers have slammed the film for its incredible length, and I'm going to be no different. It is too long. Some scenes (such as the scene where the evil Saruman destroys a mountain to block off Frodo and company and another where Frodo is attacked and stabbed by a ringwraith and is saved by Tyler's character Arwin, which I believe wasn't even in the book) were just unnecessary. I have no major complaints, just that that these scenes interrupt with the pace of the movie, making it seem somewhat clumsy and laborous. Had it been cut to a more lean 2 and a half hours, it may have been better.
However, some scenes which were fantastic were cut waaaay too short. The opening scene, which tells of the forging of the evil ring was too rushed, as was the end battle. I just felt kind of disappointed, because the battle scenes in the middle of the movie were so well-done and their timing's were just right, but then the end battle is abruptly cut short.

Despite minor complaints, I felt this movie was absolutely terrific. Many movies claim to the be the next big Star Wars Trilogy in the making, but Lord of the Rings is really going to do it. Forget about the kiddiness of Harry Potter. The wizards, orcs, dwarves, elves, and hobbitts of middle earth are much better peoples. Simply put, I can't recommend this movie to all of you enough. It's the second best movie I've seen this year, and the BEST fantasy movie of all time.
5 stars out of 5
I can't wait for the next one.