A film crying out for Terry Gilliam

Rating: Null/10 (20 January 2002)

*Contains Mild Spoilers*
If ever a film shouted out for Terry Gilliam, this is it! Peter Jackson shows that he is a very competent workman type director, but lacks that sparkle of our favourite directors at their best.
The whole film lacks that attention to the small details that the best directors know make a film. In the battle scenes there is no eye to eye contact made between hero and villain (remember when Brody stares down Jaws and you feel the goose bumps run down your back?). All the good-guy characters have such similar personalities and speech pattern that at no time do we care what happens to Frodo's hat.
The landscapes may be pretty, sure, but do we ever emotionally link to them? Do we ever get a sense that these are real cities and places (remember in Time Bandits how every place feels real in your mind) and no places are scary and dark ("I dont think were in Kansas anymore" seems like a distant fond memory). What about those giant statues at the end? What impact do they have compared to the giant statue island in Jason and the Argonauts?
Everyone loves a good battle scene, and here Jackson proves he has trouble understanding the game. Every good-guy character is superman and fights in the same way. The actor playing the Dwarf has forgotten he's not meant to be playing human (Remember Dungeon and Dragons and the cool Dwarf?). When the hobbits draw their swords you feel your heart sinking into your shoes. And at no time are you emotionally in the battle (at no point do you ever find yourself shouting warnings to the heroes, holding you breadth or cheering, like in true classics eg. StarWars, Braveheart, Raiders, Last of Mohicans, Starship Troopers, Excalibur etc.)
A good director inspires great performances from their cast. Here again Jackson has difficulty. Does Strider ever act like a ranger? No. (Contrast this with Day-Lewis in Last of the Mohicans). Ian McKellen plays Gandalf like Joe Pesci plays a gangster (Remember the wonderful performance of Nicol Williamson as Merlin in Excalibur). At least the hobbit cast have an ensured career in any future real-actor care bear movies. Oh yeah, and there's Sean Bean playing, er, Sean Bean.
In conclusion, theres a lot of crazy talk about this film being a classic. Sure, it was probably the best film of 2001, and very welcome if it inspires Hollywood to make more fantasy movies. Its a shame that Jackon was unable to bring the energy of Braindead or Meet the Feebles to this genre. If only Terry Gilliam had never heard of Italy.