Good...But Not Great

Rating: 1/10 (16 February 2002)

I first saw the teaser trailer and I was hyped. I thought that the movie was going to be a great epic...but it lagged so much and lacked an ending. The comic relief was horrible. I never want to see midget scottish guys pretending to be funny ever again. The movie seems so foreign to someone who just sees the movie and has never heard of the book. Another problem is the heroes ability to ward off huge amounts of creatures, with mere arrows and swords. Ian McKellan delivers a great performance and again proves himself to be one of the elite actors of all time. Same with Christopher Lee in his role as Saruman, he further cemented his place in film history. The hobbits served no other purpose other than to be annoying. Viggo Mortensen and Sean Bean both give great performances. The film lacks any sort of moral, but it could have been great fun. But the running time comes into play. The movie is way too long to be great. When you sit 3 hours through a movie, you want a pay off at the end, but the movie does not pay off. Most people in the theater that I saw the film in were disappointed. I was often checking my watch during the film, which is not a good sign. I recommend the film for those who enjoy fantasy movies, have large bladders, and fans of the trilogy.