For those of you who...

Rating: 10/10 (8 January 2002)

For those of you who bash this film, I have a few very brief comments. First of all, are we talking about the same movie? Lord of the Rings, right? I've actually seen comments that it is "boring." That's the most insane thing I've ever heard.
To those of you who think it is "trite" or too "Hollywood" or overcommercialized, I must ask, do you not realize that Peter Jackson filmed in New Zealand? The entire film was both physically AND artistically well out of Hollywood's evil grasp.
To those of you who stand so firmly behind the book that you condemn the movie, consider this: Peter Jackson LOVES this book. He's probably read it as many times as you have, maybe more. His choices have all been brilliant.

As for the movie itself, ***possible SPOILERS ahead***
What can I say but wow. This was easily one of the best movies I've ever seen, maybe THE best. (I said maybe.) The casting is inspired, the actualization of Middle Earth is astounding. I was as frightened by the Ringwraiths as I was enchanted by Rivendell. And like I said, Jackson did an excellent job putting the book to film. After all, do we really need Aragorn to stop and sing a little chant after Frodo is stabbed with the Morgul blade in the movie? Do we really need Bombadil? (Although the Old Forest would have been cool.) True, there could have been more between Legolas and Gimli, but I'm willing to overlook that.
In terms of casting, wow. Ian McKellan, wow. And I'm convinced that Aragorn has slipped out of Middle Earth and is wandering around secretly disguised as an actor named Viggo Mortensen. But my favorite is the hugely UNDERrated Elijah Wood. Not only is he beautiful, but I never once saw that he was acting. His eyes are so large and luminous that they bring a quality to Frodo that is both other-worldly and very compellingly human (or Hobbit). I can't say enough about how wonderful he is. I was also very happy to see Sean Bean. I've seen a few reviews ragging on his death scene, and I have to disagree. Give the guy a break! He had an opportunity to play through the kind of enormous and valiant death scene most actors dream about, and he went for it. Bravo!
Anyway, if you have any doubts, do yourself a favor. Go see this movie. As I saw another viewer write, my only complaint is about the length: at 2 hours and 58 minutes the movie was just too short.