Breathe Taking, Best Film of the Year

Rating: Null/10 (20 December 2001)

I have been a fan of J.R.R. Tolkein for a long time. Ever since I had read The Lord of the Rings I had been longing for this to be made into a movie. My years of longing have paid off. This is an incredible blockbuster.
The movie stays pretty close to the story, for which I was very thankful. I had fears that they were going to suck too much of Hollywood into this movie and ruin it. They definitely didn't.
The cast was fantastic. Since seeing the movie, I can't picture anyone other than Sir Ian McKellan in the role of Gandalf. Elijah Wood was mesmerizing as Frodo Baggins. Orlando Bloom brought realism to Legolas. John Rhys-Davies was great as Gimli. Last but not least, Sean Astin was marvelous as Samwise Gamgee.
All of the cast made you care about the characters. You didn't leave the theater with a feeling of emptiness that a lot of movies give you today.
The cinematography and scope that Peter Jackson brought to this film is utterly amazing. You get so caught up in the realism of Middle Earth that you almost want to believe that it is a real place. The pre-production on this movie was very thorough. You can almost feel the energy that he put into this movie. You did a great thing Mr. Jackson.
I definitely will recommend this movie to everyone, whether you are a fan of the books or new to the story, you will be amazed.
It is hard to believe that we have to wait a full year for the The Two Towers and another year after that for The Return of the King.
I give it a 10/10, a great movie.