One movie to bring, rule and bind the audience in Tolkien's imagination

Rating: 10/10 (4 January 2002)

It seems an eternity since I heard for first time about the film production of "The Lord of The Rings" (LOTR), the adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's literary masterpiece. And when I knew Peter Jackson was behind all the party, I was quite surprised: the creator of "Braindead" and "The Frighteners" conducting one of the most awaited trilogies in the cinema history? A bit strange, I must say...
Well, after 2 years of waiting, several teaser trailers, and lots of previous merchandising, the LOTR is now a reality. The first chapter, "The Fellowship of the Ring" (FOTR), has arrived like a blessing for all the film industry, in all possible meanings of blessing.
For anyone who has read the book, the first impression that you should get from the film is that Peter Jackson has created a pretty close adaptation of the novel. Everybody knows that the novel adaptations to the screen are often not as good as the original book. Just read The Lost World or Sphere and compare with the films. Then judge. :P
But in the FOTR, the adaptation is incredible. And also creating all the landscapes and the different locations of the novel: lots of people say that it's exactly how they had imagined it.
Thank god Peter Jackson has joined a cast crew of "not so known" actors! ^_^ Just imagine, for example, Sean Connery playing as Gandalf, or Brad Pitt as Strider... That doesn't mean that Sir Ian McKellen, Elijah Wood, Sean Bean, Viggo Mortensen, Hugo Weaving and the rest of the actors aren't good! Just the opposite! All characters are incredibly performed. Probably everyone should find in each character little differences from what he/she was expecting, but we can affirm that it was the way Tolkien would have wanted it.
Talking about the film: the landscapes, the crowded battles, the incredible special effects... Everything is joined in astonishing harmony to bring into life a totally new world of fantasy and adventure. Probably the weak point of the FOTR is the rythm of the action. And it's not a lack of tempo, is possibly an excessive speed of the story. It's like they have tried to condense all the book in a 3 hour movie, which is quite difficult.

Of course that there're some missing parts in the film (like Tom Bombadil), but I can imagine the producers saying "Hurry! Hurry! We're in the 2nd hour of the film and we're still in the middle of the novel! 400 pages ahead!!" :D
Anyway, the film is an incredible masterpiece that has reached Tolkien fans and people who have never heard about the novel. I recommend to read the book before watching the film, it'll help to understand what's all the fuss about.
I will steal the ending from another IMDB user comment: "Lucas and Spielberg, learn how to do cinema". WORTH LOOK!!! 10/10