Virtually spot-on

Rating: Null/10 (4 January 2003)

This film has had a ridiculous amount of superlatives heaped upon it, and for once they are justified. You don't need to have read the books to enjoy it, but it helps. With such a landmark source material, everyone is going to have their own idea of what it should look like, and I think Peter Jackson and his crew must have read my mind.
Like many, I am sure, I had misgivings when I heard of the project. Too often a good book is translated to screen and ruined in the process, and in these days of over-reliance on computer FX that feat is even easier to accomplish. This is not the case here; although it could not really have been attempted without the technical wizardry available today, the effects never look 'tacked on' and blend comfortably with the natural location filming.
The casting was inspired - a few well-known actors, but no huge star names to potentially sink the project. In fact the performances in general were far better than one could rightfully expect in what is, on one level, basically a fairy story. If I had to pick one for special note it would have to be Ian McKellen as Gandalf; he is one of the best stage and film actors alive today, period, and there are moments of sheer brilliance - in fact if I had to pick a single moment from the film it would be the look on Gandalf's face when, at the council of Elrond, Frodo volunteers to take the ring to Mordor. I don't think I've ever seen such a mix of emotions put into a single expression, and the impact of that one shot is absolutely tremendous.
If I have one criticism, it's that I felt the sequence in Lothlorien seemed too short, but given the running time of the theatrical release it's understandable - there is simply too much to fit in. The DVD extended edition has additional footage here and, for me, it was much better. In fact all the additional footage added to the experience, rather than merely being padding. We can only be thankful that Jackson resisted pressure to condense the whole trilogy into one film, and I get the feeling that, excellent though this is, things are going to get better.