Epic story telling at its best

Rating: 10/10 (16 January 2002)

J.R.R. Tolkeins books were the first fantasy books I read as a young teenager. At that time, it was a slog to get through the books, and it put me off fantasy for about 5 years. However, I wasn't going to deny myself the film version 20 years later, and this film is a masterpiece!
Throughout the entire film, I didn't want it to end, even when I was begining to fidget (thank goodness for stadium seating being the norm nowadays!). When it did end, the film still haunted my mind and thoughts a week later, so I went and saw it again - a first for 3 hour films and me! Although the special effects seemed to leach the colour from our star actors from the moment their quest began (the only thing that irritated me...), the story is a powerful one and I found it impossible to not be sucked into the whole story. The actors were marvelous, but Ian McKellen as Gandalf deserves to be singled out for praise - his best performance yet! I was also glad that Elijah Wood got the role of Frodo - he is very good in it.
Nowadays it is rare that Hollywood produces a movie with a real story instead of some marketing approved concept - but thank goodness approval was given for this attempt for Peter Jackson to go ahead with his version. I would suspect this will not be surpassed until 3-D/interactive movies are made in the future...
An absolute must see for its sheer ability to sweep you into the story. How, I ask you, can we wait for the two sequel films?!