a powerful movie (some minor spoilers and ONE BIG SPOILER)

Rating: Null/10 (28 December 2001)

In this day and age, there are way too many movies that totally brush aside the emotional integrity for some blow-em-up scenes that have no real relevance to the actual plot. Example: The most confusing, talent-wasting, horrible piece of sludge that I've ever had the bad fortune to view in a theatre. I'm of course talking about the 1998 flop, THE AVENGERS, starring Uma Thurman and Ralph Fiennes. Thank God in Heaven that LOTR is not one of those movies. This, my friend, is a movie with HEART. When I first saw the trailer for LOTR in the theatre before Harry Potter, I was incredibly excited. I of course knew about the trilogy beforehand, but this was the first time I had seen it in the theatre, and not on my computer at home. I have never read the books, but I knew that it was going to be pretty emotional and special effects filled. I wasn't let down. This movie doesn't substitute emotion with special effects. It's a story on its own. And a lot of people are saying that it's all about the fx and they don't show a lot of the friendships between Frodo and Sam and Merry and Pippin. All I have to say to them is: Where are your eyes??!! You see it when Frodo wakes up in Rivendell and Sam runs to his side, nearly crying with happiness that he's all right. You see it when Frodo is reunited with Merry and Pippin. You see it when Merry and Pippin distract the Uruk-Hai away from Frodo so he can escape. And you see it at the ending, which I enjoyed very much, because it's a trilogy, and there shouldn't be a lot of closure until THE RETURN OF THE KING. The relationships that the actors formed are really noticeable, because the chemistry just explodes off the screen.
Okay, now on to the actors. I've always loved Elijah Wood (he's a hottie, I'm not going to lie), and I make no exception here. I thought he WAS Frodo Baggins of Bag-End. But the closeups of his hands holding the ring, honestly, made me wince. He's probably a serious nail-biter, and although it could've been worse (they could've been all ragged and nasty looking, they were actually quite nicely kept), they were way too short for my taste. But, that's just quibbling. He was amazing, and I thought he really took the role to heart. The best scenes were at the end when he was crying and looking into the camera, his blue eyes brimming with tears. I nearly started to cry. Okay, I'm getting off track. I thought that Sean Astin as Sam was brilliant. I loved him in his role as the best friend. But I have to say that my favorite characters (other than Frodo) were Dominic Monaghan and Billy Boyd as Meriadoc Brandybuck and Peregrin Took, or Merry and Pippin. They were so unbelievably comical. I laughed a lot when they took Gandalf's rocket and blew it up in the tent. However, they also showed great dramatic depth in the scenes following Gandalfs supposed death. When that happens, we see Merry consoling a sobbing Pippn in his arms. A lot of people said that you never see them unless they are acting up and being stupid. Well, just look at that scene!! Ian McKellen was fantastic as Gandalf. Just beautifully portrayed. And the CGI in this film blows away anything that Harry Potter had to offer. The cave troll in this one makes the Harry Potter mountain troll look like Scooby Doo. I especially, however, liked Orlando Bloom as Legolas Greenleaf. He is a very good actor, and I liked him very much. Viggo Mortensen was wonderful as Aragorn/Strider, and Liv Tyler was beautiful as Arwen Undomiel. I loved Cate Blanchett as Galadriel, the Elven Queen. She was breathtaking
I did not see anything wrong with this movie. I loved it so much. The only movie this year that made me laugh and cry both at the same time. The only thought I had after it ended was, "When is THE TWO TOWERS coming out again?"