*Contains Spoilers* Not the masterpiece people claim it is,but still a fine,fine fantasy film indeed!

Rating: 9/10 (27 January 2009)

This Review is for The Extended Edition.
Okay,so after watching Fellowship of the ring and Two Towers,years ago,I wasn't impressed,I was bored,confused and not into it at all,Not that I've grown up and being the big film buff that I am,Iv'e come to appreciate it a lot more,that being said does it live up the hype? Yes and No. The 1st Hour is a Joy,you can slowly start to see things unraveling,Bilbo's character change,you start to see Gandalf become more and more paranoid,I was on the edge of my seat,wondering what was gonna happen next. Unfourtantley,the 2nd half stumbled a bit for me,I was bored in some scenes,Morgoth Vs Gandalf was highly disappointing in my opinion. The fight itself was interesting,Ian McKellen had some excellent dialog,but it just seemed blah to me,they did it perfectly at the end,with Ian Mckellen yelling "Fly You Fools!". but in my opinion Elijah Wood,ruined it with his totally OTT overacting,after Gandalf's death. The sequels improve amazingly better after this one,to me it's the weak link,Now you might think from reading this from all the criticism,that I disliked the film,but when in fact I really quite liked it, There's a lot more good that outweigh's the bad,the effects are breathtaking,the battle scenes near the end are exhilarating,it's more exciting then boring more often then not and Peter Jackson does a wonderful job of directing,the only thing that was off was the pacing,and it lacked humor,other then that I loved it.
The Acting for the most part is truly excellent. Elijah Wood is On and Off. at times he's very convincing and likable,others he overacts completely and is dull as a doorknob,he is supposed to be the main focus of the film,he has a burden with the ring,and was very inconsistent in my opinion,however he improves greatly in the sequels. Ian McKellen is brilliant as Gandalf,he's funny,and has all the great lines,but is intense when needed,which is a lot of the time in the 2nd half,he steals the film if you ask me.Sean Astin annoys me most of the time,but he plays the best friend of Frodo really well,he's likable and does his job well,liked him a lot.Sean Bean is awesome as Boromir,he was unpredictable,and you could feel the Ring could change him at any moment,it was a shame his character never continued,but It lead to a good storyline in the sequels.Orlando Bloom is pretty cool as Legolas the Elve his Arrow work was a sight to behold and didn't have a whole lot to do,but when he was on screen he did it well.Cate Blanchett is OK,she's barely on screen and I found her scene to be pretty pointless,even though it served the film with a purpose.Billy Boyd&Dominic Monaghan Do well as the comic relief Duo,providing some good laughs for the viewer,and thankfully never got too annoying.Christopher Lee is as always a great presence,and is wonderful as Saruman,he is often creepy and gave me a fright,whenever he was on screen he gave me chills,and some of his scenes with McKellen were a sight to behold!.Ian Holm is Pretty good as Bilbo he's likable and on top of things,but after the 1st half you don't see him again till well ahead in the 2nd half. Viggo Mortensen Is good for the most part,His scene where he is 1st revealed is quite a memorable moment,but at times he felt rather wooden,but for the most part I was impressed,especially with his Sword fighting skills. John Rhys-Davies is comic relief and not very good one at that,his character wasn't needed.Liv Tyler is a Gorgeous woman no doubt but she felt off and was somewhat wooden.Hugo Weaving is alright but nothing more then that,her scenes with Liv Tyler felt forced.
This film is an epic blockbuster,that is a Required viewing for everyone,It's an exciting experience,it might be the weak link by far in my opinion but it's still a fine way to get into this Magical series! See it. 9 1/2 10