Good, but not as good as they say

Rating: Null/10 (6 October 2002)

Well, I FINALLY got to see this movie on videotape after missing it in the theaters.
Alas, I'm afraid it did not measure up to my expectations.
First I did not think the acting was very good. Most of the characters lacked the kind of dramatic presence that they should have had to convey the literary excellence of the text. There seemed to be a lot of staring with quivering lips, but no real drama.
Second, the whole camera angle is wrong. The books are told from the perspective of the hobbits. The hobbits are smaller than everyone else, so the camera should be looking up at everyone except the hobbits. I once had my kids take pictures of us when they were very small and it was rather dramatic looking at the undersides of the chins of all these great, huge people who are the adults of the family. That's what the people, and even to a certain extent the dwarves, should look like in this movie, but they don't. They all just look like human actors.
Third, the elves are totally disappointing. In the books they were obviously supernatural from first sight. Frodo & Bilbo felt excited just to look at them. This would have required some kind of special effects, but those were generally absent. The elves just looked like regular people with long hair and pointy ears. One did not get a sense of excitement just looking at them.
Fourth, they missed my totally favorite character in the whole series, Tom Bombadil. Obviously, he was edited out in the interest of time, but how awful! How could he possibly have been considered unnecessary?
This is not to say it was a horrible film. It was done quite professionally and credibly. I just don't see what all the excitement was about. That's not to say I wouldn't watch the sequel. I think I will. Still, I can't see all those Oscar nominations at all.