Good, but maybe too long

Rating: 9/10 (21 December 2001)

Tried hard not to listen to all the hype, actually went out my way to find some negative reviews on this site, which tended to focus on the length of the film. I did enjoy the fellowship, actually it was excellent, but it could have been tightened up a bit, perhaps 20 mins too long. I have read LOTR a couple of times, and the film characters and settings were almost as i imagined, Gandalf was spot on and the set pieces/effects were stunning, although i didn't feel drawn in emotionally as much as i would have liked. I would recommend this film and give it 8.5/10 (OK, 9 since IMDB don't do halves). I'm amazed by some of the polarised comments on this site, how people can give this film 1/10 seems petulant to me, OK i don't believe its the number one film of all time, but i don't see it languishing at the bottom with Manos, Hands of Fate!!