Almost spot-on

Rating: 6/10 (20 December 2001)

Well, I've been waiting twenty years for this film to be made, ever since I first read LOTR when I was 12.
I've been a frequent visior to fan websites this last two years or so and knew before sitting down in the theatre what had been changed.
Generally, I thought the film was very good. It certainly could not have been made before as a live action film - the techniques necessary have only recently been available.
The casting has turned out to have been fairly astute, with special mention going to Ian McKellen, Sean Bean and Viggo Mortensen. The scenery was terrific with Barad-dur, Minas Tirith and Isengad fabulously realised obviously paying homage to existing artwork painted quite a few years ago. Only Moria was a bit of a disappointment, being a little too bland and not giving the impression of what it was - not just a mine but the largest Dwarven city in Middle-earth. The world of the ring (i.e. when you put it on!) is fabulously depicted and clearly shows how the corrupting effect of the ring could be cumulative.
Now onto the section of the review which deals with my impressions of the changes made within the film, both positive and negative - SPOILERS BELOW!

The Bad
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1) Liv Tyler during the flight to the ford and the river scene. I can understand the requirement to appeal to a wider section of the audience, and have nothing against her replacing Glorfindel (much) - but on the whole this was a big mistake. Frodo's nightmare journey to the ford and his subsequent defiance to the Nazgul is simptomatic of the hidden strengths of his character. Additionally, not having Elrond conjure the river and Gandalf embelish the waves is also irritating. 2) Galadriel at Egladil. In the book when Frodo offers her the one ring, she does not light up like an extra from a cheap science fiction series and need a quick nap afterwards, her attitude is very self-mocking and she dismisses it quite easily with a laugh. She has already made her mind up on the subject long before. There is also NO mention of Nenya at all - WHY???
3) While the Balrog was well animated - fautlessly in fact, it's too big! Gandalf subsequently wins by throwing his enemy off the mountain - will this be changed also?
The Good
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1) Aragorn - In the film, Aragorn questions himself a lot.
He is deathly afraid that he has inherited his ancestor's (Isildur) weakness for the ring and will fail the fellowship because of it. This also makes sense as to why he has not made himself known to Denethor before. 2) Boromir - In the film he explains the reasons that drive him to push himself so hard, his Father's approaching dotage and his fear that Minas Tirith will fall soon.
I have a few other minor niggles, such as why this new Uruk-hai character feels the need to run in slow-motion and roar every five seconds but as a whole I am glad this film was made and look ahead with enthusiasm for the remaining two installments. Lastly, in the UK the film was given a PG rating with advice that the film "may be unsuitable for children under 8" - this is very irresposible on the part of new line. There are clearly scenes in this film that will give nightmares to children under 12.
Ah well - now waiting for the DVD to come out :)
Happy Christmas all
Dan