Clumsy, Confusing and Clods Along

Rating: 1/10 (28 December 2001)

I have never read The Lord of the Rings trilogy. But after seeing a three hour train wreck, I might just read the books and save the $16 dollars I would have wasted on the next two films.
While I generally appreciate epics and grand stories, let's get one thing straight, it is generally important to know the characters names. After two hours into this movie, I knew the names of three characters, and possibly five, even though it turned out to be that one man had TWO names. After two and half hours (with virtually NO PLOT or CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT) I just wanted the credits to roll and have it be over.
Secondly, the editing on the fight scenes is simply. . . terrible. I've seen better editing in freshmen movie classes (and believe me this isn't saying much.)
Thirdly, I feel compelled to cite this work (The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Rings) as nothing more than a WHITE ELEPHANT. Had this movie been penned by anybody other than JRR Tolkein himself, people would not be rushing to see it. The movie, as a whole, is expansive, lush and visually a treat to look at. However, if I want those things, I'll go to an art museum. This film is endemic of what is wrong with Hollywood. I feel that they are much more concerned with selling you the Lord of the Rings cup than put a quality product on the screen.