Terrible, if you have not read the book

Rating: 1/10 (9 February 2002)

For those out of the 'cult', this movie will feel like a complete rip-off. The movie shd start with 'IF YOU HAVE NOT READ THE BOOK, PLEASE LEAVE THE THEATER NOW' warning. Except the broad overview at the beginning, the story does not make any effort to explain the characters and why each race behaves in a particular way. The worst part is the ending .. hello .. I have seen movies based on book trilogies, but each movie has to stand on its own. A movie is NOT a TV episode of a week. A movie is not free and the next episode is not coming in a week. And, btw, even the TV episodes end with a good climax.
I do not read thick books, but I like to watch good movie adaptations. I did not like this movie. It is slow .. maybe it is trying to put everything from the book plus more on screen. If someone is forcing you to watch this movie, make sure you atleast know the background. After I saw the movie, my friends tried to explain me the complex relationships. That actually sounded quite interesting .. why those important subtle details were not included (via a character) ?
I love other adventure/fantasy movies .. Star Wars, Indiana Jones and even Harry Potter (although I have not read the book). But this movie - definitely - is strange, a well-executed experiment that has failed.
You have been warned.