Not totally crap, just kind of like crap

Rating: 2/10 (20 December 2001)

This wasn't a horrible movie, but it has some major problems that I can't look past. First of all, the good reviews written prior to Dec. 19 (the actual release date) were written by die-hard fans of the books who saw the movie before the release date and knew it would be perfect before stepping foot into the theater. Now that the movie has been released to the general public, a more accurate description will ensue. The movie is too long. Plain and simple. You would think that after three hours, the audience would be left with more information about the characters, the history, or even the plot. I walked out of the theater with more questions than answers. If every movie is going to be three hours long, we will have the displeasure of spending nine hours watching some guys walk up a mountain. No thanks. The movie started off with great potential. Unfortunately, the endless barrage of battle scenes grew stale after the first two hours. Yeah they were cool. But this movie has a bigger ego than Braveheart and Titanic combined. At least those movies provided some resolution, and in only one installment. I understand that the movie ends the same way as the book, but this guy Pete Jackson can't assume that all of us are going to race out to see part 2 just because the first one didn't tie up all the loose ends. It didn't peak my curiosity, it turned me off. I think all of us can admit that after 2.5 hours, we were ready for it to end. This movie is trying to appeal to the small percentage of people who have read the books. Only those people can patch together the big holes in the script. The rest of us are left wondering.