Excellent

Rating: 10/10 (19 December 2001)

I want to preface that I am a long time Tolkien Fan, but I write this with no bias. I have waited my whole life to see this story told on film. I am 53 years old. For the first time I was not disappointed in watching a Hobbit or Lord of the Rings Story. The movie holds true to the book. There are some things missing from the book that was not expressed in the film. But they are minor and if included could have made the movie go another hour. For me that would not have been a bad thing. The detail that has been given to this movie is astounding. They are too numerous to list, however I will make an attempt. The sets are magnificent. Hobbiton looks like hobbits actually exist and live there. Rivendell, Moria, Lorien, Isengard all authentic looking. The elves speak Quenya with English subtitles, the elfish and dwarfish writings are authentic. The drawings of maps are from the book. There is even a part in the movie where the inscription of the One Ring is spoken through one of the movie speakers in the dark speech from the ring itself. A nice touch, since no one else will speak it. The soundtrack is also excellent.
For someone who has never read the Trilogy, this movie will not leave you satisfied. It will leave you wanting more. You will want to read the Trilogy. I do not think you will get too lost, however there are a lot of characters and locations and if you do not know them ahead of time, I could see where you might get a little confused.
This movie is not just another adventure with a struggle of good vs evil. The characters are real. You care about them. You root for them. You feel their pain. The cities are real. The landscape is real.
Go see it!