Overrated, to say the least!

Rating: 7/10 (8 December 2004)

I have seen all the LotR movies several times now, and also the extended editions. And while the movies are fairly entertaining and have many beautiful scenes, I am generally not very impressed with them at all.
They are generally filled with all the things *money can buy* - superb production values and master craftsmanship in many areas of technique and design -, but deplorably short on the things money *can't* buy, namely depth of characterization, good ideas and a well-balanced story structure. The characters are totally two-dimensional cardboards for whom it is incredibly difficult to feel anything at all, no matter how hard one tries. The translations of Tolkien's ideas are uninspired and predictably pedestrian. The storytelling frequently suffers from bad pacing. Building suspense is an art lost (or rather, never discovered) to Peter Jackson, so nothing becomes even remotely eerie or unsettling, though I'm sure today's young audiences think the tiresomely cheap shrieking effects of the Nazgul constitute proper creepiness.
In short, the design efforts (all hail to Alan Lee) are gorgeous, but filmically speaking these movies are a study in cinematic blandness and sterility. Some of this may stem from Tolkien's original text, in which the characters are also almost total cardboards.
But, I should also say some good things. Some of the actors are good, esp. Viggo and Orlando, and the guy who plays Faramir. And Ian McKellen, of course, and the splendid Andy Serkis. I also think Elijah Wood is right for the part of Frodo, but I have a problem with Frodo in these movies. He's always worried and tired and enooormously burdened. I can't enjoy watching him when he's constantly depressed like that! It's annoying and silly and ruins the character. I want at least a few scenes of him being happy! Being a proper Hobbit! Throughout these three movies he's just depressing to watch. Sigh.
Sorry, on about the good things... The language. This is my single favorite part about these movies. Nary an American accent in sight! Superb phrasing, stunningly beautiful enunciation. Damn, Oliver Stone should have been paying attention to this when he did Alexander; with this quality of dialog and accents it would have been twice the movie it actually became. "Whether by your will or not, there is no ship now that can bear me hence." Whew, pure Shakespeare, mate! THAT'S impressive. And Théoden's last words: "[...] my ancestors, in whose mighty company I shall not now feel ashamed." Magnificent!
The trilogy does improve a bit as it moves on. This is mainly due to the fact that much more time is spent on the really interesting parts, namely the political developments, the wars, intrigues, etc. The human lands and characters - not to mention the far superior human dialog - are by far the most interesting to me; after having watched the movies several times, I now utterly loathe the entire Hobbit part of the storyline, which I find totally boring. I am consistently compelled to fast forward through those parts.
My Ratings: The Fellowship of the Ring: 5 out of 10. The Two Towers: 6 out of 10. The Return of the King: 7 out of 10.