Jackson's first installment of epic fantasy works is a success.

Rating: 9/10 (9 July 2011)

The beginning of The Lord of the Rings Trilogy is a fantastic work of movie-making. The use of state of the art visual effects works to the benefit of Tolkien's story. The epic production values are outstanding and so is the cast that includes Ian McKellen, Viggo Mortensen, and Cate Blanchett. Jackson stays loyal to Tolkien but builds the film to his liking and takes creative liberties to the story without ruining the adaptation. The score is magnificent and few fantasy films have such a great look and atmosphere to them like this film does. Staggering and original direction by Peter Jackson in his best picture yet.