Good, but not great.

Rating: 7/10 (9 January 2002)

7/10. I was disappointed given its tremendous box office and critical support. I predict that its current #1 ranking and 9.2 user rating on IMDb will fall with hindsight and backlash. Now, keep in mind that I haven't read the books on which it's based. I found that the plot is far too compressed and rushed, even though it's three hours long. *** Spoiler Follows *** The slow moments, like whenever a hero dies, then become too slow in contrast. A long mini-series would be needed to do justice to this story, especially given that it is just a part of a much longer story. As with so many other action films, small numbers of heroes always seem to beat enormous numbers of anonymous villains; the chasers never seem able to catch the chased although they are clearly shown catching up to them; and distracting, extravagant camera movement is over-used. This movie is not as good as the best "Star Wars" movies, contrary to the opinion of many fantasy fans. I noticed other problems. Nevertheless, it was good overall. I particularly enjoyed Gandalf, Arwen, and Aragorn. This movie works well enough for me that I would like to read the books sometime, so I wouldn't criticize it too much.