LOTR I excellently done, Mr. Jackson!

Rating: 9/10 (13 January 2002)

Most movie adaptions of famous books are subpar or terrible, but not so with Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (1st of 3 movies). Peter Jackson, director, producer, and screenplay writer is a genius, and my long and pointed hat off to him! Each of the cast members is exactly what you'd expect Frodo, Gandalf, Bilbo, Aragorn, etc. to be like. I especially loved Ian McKellan as Gandalf, and Elijah Wood as Frodo, who play their characters with such heart and soul. I've seen many comments on the length of this movie, which is nearly a hefty 3 hours. But the movie has a fast pace, and the time whizzes by. Trust me, you won't be looking at your watch while this movie is playing.
The cinematography in this movie left me gasping, especially the mountain scenes and grasslands. New Zealand, where the trilogies were shot, is a beautiful landscape, and I am even more eager to visit it now. My only gripes are the moments that were left out, such as the hobbits' encounter with Bombadil (who I really wanted to see onscreen), and the creative liberties taken with the script at various moments (though I suppose the changes don't impact the movie negatively). All in all, I'm excited about this series, and look forward to the next two adaptions.