Excellent, Bad, Mixed Views!

Rating: 10/10 (6 April 2002)

Warning: I give some details, but NOT the ending!!
I thought that the movie was fantastic. I have seen many movies, and this one was by far the best. The costumes were amazing and the backgrounds were so detailed. I refer to the part of the movie when Frodo was stabbed and Aragorn goes in search of the healing plant. The background behind Frodo shows the trolls which Bilbo told the child-hobbits about at the party.
It was genius to have Cate Blanchett do the narration at the beginning of the film. I have seen this film MANY times, so I know a lot of the little details which makes the rest of the story make sense. Like, for example, Elrond was given one of the rings of power. It must have been difficult to cast for this film. It was an excellent cast! I would not have changed it at all. I was disappointed that they left out the songs, Tom Bombaddil, Goldberry, and Gil-Galad. I think that it was better than the book in some ways. For example, the character Arwen Undomiel was "beefed-up". I did not like that in the book, there were very few women. The music was incredible. Once again, it's the little details that make it awesome. For example, when Arwen Undomiel and Aragorn are talking about how much they love each other (in Rivendell), the song goes:

O mor henion i dhu:
[From darkness I understand the night:]
Ely siriar, el sila
[Dreams flow, a star shines]
Ai! Aniron Undomiel
[Ah! I desire Evenstar]
Tiro! El eria e mor
[Look! A star rises out of the darkness]
I lit en el luitha 'uren
[The song of the star enchants my heart]
Ai! Aniron. . .
[Ah! I desire. . .]

I loved the film so much, that I have written some short stories, read ALL of J.R.R. Tolkein's (finished) books, and seen the movie over ten times! It might have been better, but I love it anyways!
(See, I told you that I wouldn't spoil the end for you!)