Not what I expected.

Rating: 5/10 (12 January 2002)

As an enthusiastic movie fan, I'm not sure what I expected...but unfortunately my expectations were too high based on all the hype this film has had for a year prior to its opening! Don't get me wrong, the actors were cast well, and they were quite wonderful and talented. Ditto on special effects and locations--the money spent does show up on the screen! However, I once heard it said that Speilberg likes to ask what an audience is "FEELING" in every scene, feeling on every page of a screenplay, because when it comes right down to it film is about feeling and emotions. How you felt when you saw a movie is what you remember, what you see or hear is only temporary. It will be interesting to see how LOTR stands the test of time. In JAWS I jumped in my seat, and to this day two notes from the film's music and I feel danger lurking even when not near water! In E.T. I felt like I helped lift that bike off the ground and saved E.T. In Wizard of Oz I feel hatred for that nasty witch, scared when the monkeys attacked, and triumph when the witch melts! What did I feel watching LOTR? That it was too long. That it was one foe-monster after another getting in the hero's way. That the quest was nothing more than one battle after another against each villain. That it was predictable even if you hadn't read the book. That the storyline was at fault for not having characters I truly cared about. That I felt cheated out of my ticket price because the ending proved the whole film was nothing but a set up for film two and three. I expected to care. I wanted to care. I didn't care. Well, in LOTR, I only felt disappointed. I felt no terror. I felt no joy. I felt no rage. I felt nothing except that I had watched a good movie, not a great movie! Although a classic series of books, I think this lack of "feeling" is why this film is a hit for the computer/game crowd, but comes across as not that great to others. The week I saw LOTR I also saw to two other movies. VANILLA SKY and KATE & LEOPOLD. Now, here' s an interesting observation--- the only film of the three that the audience applauded when it was over was KATE & LEOPOLD---because it made them FEEL GOOD, HAPPY, and glad they had lived the moments on screen along with Meg Ryan and Hugh Jackman.