Movies are supposed to be this good.

Rating: Null/10 (26 December 2001)

Movies are supposed to demand repeat viewings and get better instead of worse with each new foray into their depths. The Fellowship of the Ring was twice as good the second time I saw it.
I have read the novels many times and had tremendous expectations. This movie faced a deck stacked with hype, history, and hopes so grand that I could almost never dream of being satisfied. My first viewing suffered because of this. Of course, I loved it, and was spell bound. It was too much to bear, three hours of non-stop exhiliration and wonder, tempered by constant comparisons to past interpretation, as well as the great novel itself. To make matters worse, I had aching pains by the Mines of Moria sequence do to my lack of foresight with regard to basic bodily functions, and had to run out to satisfy this problem. I missed the introduction to Lothlorien. The movie was incredible, but still, did not feel right. I thought the ending was a little heavy handed, the Enya, too much, but with my second viewing, all of that changed.
It takes that second viewing to purge the hype. Aragorn became Aragorn, because I wasn't busy judging performances. Instead of wondering how Jackson would pull it off, or whether it was what I expected or not, I allowed it to tell its tale, and allowed the characters to be who they were. This movie is different from the book, it faces necessities due to the medium, and succeeds brilliantly because it captures the books greatest quality, sincereity. A novel or movie in this setting with these characters and ambitions, must not be cynical, snide, or cocky, and thus this movie is not like any movie which has come out in a long time.
What this movie has is passion. It trusts its story and characters to illuminate themselves, and though the filmaking is of the highest order, it doesn't overstep its bounds; Jackson has amazing trust in the material he is working with, and this is the only way Tolkien can be filmed, because the tale itself is enough. Cynics will claim the movie is too simple, the characters blah, blah, blah, or they won't allow themselves to beleive in this world and what occurs in it, questioning everything. If you want to enjoy this movie, then check your cynicism at the door. Beleive and trust; you will be enthralled, and waiting eagerly for the next installment. Watching this movie is simple, enjoy it for what it is, and at the end of Fellowship, (possible spoiler ahead) beleive that Aragorn has chosen with difficulty the direction of his birthright, that Legolas and Gimli are ready to face death to save Merry and Pippin, that Sam would rather drown than abandon his master.
Is the movie flawed? Of course it is. No one can ask for perfection. Jackson can't film the novels word for word. Some characters could use more development and screen time, but ultimately all of the characters make noble and exhilirating choices, some that cause suffering, and are ill-fated or misguided, and that is where the magic of Fellowship lies, in the novel and in the multiplex. These choices will be tested in the upcoming installments, leading to even greater tests and choices, and that is how the best stories are told. If you haven't read the books, beleive me when I say that the novels and movies will only get better. (Each and every time that you return to them)