The most awesome cinematic experience I've ever had

Rating: 10/10 (19 December 2001)

My mind is in a daze right now. I have just seen the film that I've waited all my life to see. This was the big one, the movie that delivers everything I ever wanted from a film. My impossibly high expectations were actually not impossible at all. I have just had an experience I will never forget.
Peter Jackson, I love you dearly, but you almost killed me. You see, I had a very frightening experience during my first viewing: twice during the film I got so overwhelmed that I had pins and needles over my entire body, my hands, my feet, even my face. I was really scared, as was my girlfriend, who kept telling me to calm down. What I was seeing was just too much. The first time it happened was Weathertop.. after Frodo puts on the ring. When Aragorn jumped in I had to try really hard to calm myself, and didn't pay attention to him fighting the nazgul. The second time was the Balrog, and was even worse.. I just had to avert my concentration from the film. When I came out I couldn't remember a thing about the Balrog other than it was totally mind-boggling.
I came out amazed at how much I had just seen, trying to absorb it all. Usually with a movie you come out and talk about it with whoever you went with for perhaps half an hour. But with this movie, you could talk about it for hours, there is just so much in it. At first I was numb, and couldn't think clearly about it.. but an hour after seeing it I knew I'd just seen the greatest film ever made and couldn't wait to see it again in the evening. My 2nd viewing was just as enjoyable, as I was calmer and could take more in. My girlfriend (non-fan), while she did enjoy the first viewing, said she had been really worried about me so perhaps didn't get into it as a result. But the 2nd time, when I was calmer and she fully concentrated on it, she totally loved it, and cried 3 times.
The effort and love and technical skill put into this movie is astonishing, and I could see it in every shot. I am starting to feel lost for words even typing this... just the cinematography, the way the shots were set up, the lighting, it was all so beautiful. Seeing Gollum in his cave in the prologue sent shivers down my spine. Middle-earth just felt living and breathing right before your eyes. It was the little things as well as the big things that got me.. such as the short montage of the black riders before they set out from Bree.. all so beautiful and so cinematic. Any quibbles would be so minor that they are not worth mentioning right now.
I was very pleased to see that virtually every evening showing at the two main Cardiff cinemas tonight were sold out. After my 6.00 pm showing, which was nearly full, there were a few cheers afterwards and I couldn't help joining in. I have never seen a film twice in a day before, and I don't think I could have done with any other film, but this blew me away both times. I am still awed by what happened today. It felt very strange arriving home to a quiet house after having been immersed in Middle-earth for 6 hours. I was expecting to be sad after seeing the films because all the anticipation has gone.. but I'm not, I'm on a real high because the film met my expectations and I know I will have it with me for the rest of my life. The world has truly been blessed.