far from "perfection"

Rating: 6/10 (3 January 2002)

I am utterly puzzled by the numerous users of IMDB who claim that this film attains "perfection". The film is pretty to look at, and I have no doubts that Tolkien fans are thrilled to see their heroes depicted on-screen. However...

Despite its length, the film manages to attain little sense of drama: at no time did Frodo's enemies seem truly threatening; at no time did the relationships among the fellowship make their interactions at all interesting.

Certain aspects of the special effects were impressive; however, much of the CGI scenery rendering looked cartoonish to my eyes. If that's what the director wanted, he needed to make *all* of the scenes look fairy tale-like... not just those that were computer generated.

Whether faithful to the book or not, the "realization" that Frodo is the only one who can carry the ring seemingly takes place once every 10 minutes, making for a very dull, predictable, and overlong film that is surprisingly light on plot and sophistication.

Proper editing would have vastly improved the film; numerous pointless scenes left me checking my watch. Meanwhile, other seemingly important elements go unexplained (at least to Tolkien non-readers).

Despite being the main character, Frodo is portrayed in the film as merely a passive body who carries the ring. The non-Hobbits seem to do most of the important planning and work. So then: why should the viewer invest at all in Frodo's fate?

Note to director: repeated 10 second close-ups on Frodo's expressionless face *do not* add emotion to the story.

Note to all audience members: repeated 10 second close-ups on Frodo's expressionless face *do not* demonstrate that he is a good actor.

The characters so much as admit that the movie has no climax, presenting the audience with a "well, sorry, that's it for now" moment in the closing scene.

This is not the best movie of all time, nor is it among the 5 best movies of 2001. Tolkien's faithful readers will probably like it, but if someone tells you that it's "perfect", they're not a very demanding movie-goer. 6/10.