No. 1 it is not

Rating: 8/10 (22 December 2001)

For more than a year I've used the IMDB's top 250 movies of all time list as my 'canon' for great movies. And 95% of the time I agree fully with it and the ratings people collectively give the films on it. But this movie fits in that 5% that I just can't agree with. Don't get me wrong, I saw this movie the first day it came out, and was very enthusiastic to see it. My friends I saw it with had read all the books, but I had not. By this time it was #53 on the IMDB just from it's non-American release. And after seeing it I truly thought it was a great epic adventure. I thought "This is an instant classic. Sort of a second Star Wars trilogy (I don't count episode 1)." BUUUUUUUUUUT..... When I checked it's rating today, I was, well, just disappointed. THIS MOVIE DOES NOT DESERVE THE #1 SPOT ON THE IMDB LIST. It is a great movie, and never before had I enjoyed a whole 3 hour film like this, but their are a lot more films that are JUST SO MUCH BETTER! Schindler's List! Memento! The Usual Suspects! American Beauty! Pulp Fiction! American History X! Fight Club! Even The Matrix! These movies are all spectacular masterpieces that grip your mind and spirit, and blow LOTR away. It should also be noted that It's always been my view that The Godfather should not be #1 either, but should be right below The Shawshank Redemption. I can only hope that over the next few months the hype will diminish and FOTR will go to it's proper place somewhere in the teens or twenties. See this movie. Enjoy it. But do not forget that it is not perfect.
And it is DEFINITELY not deserving of the #1 place