Need we heap more praise upon this masterpiece?

Rating: 10/10 (20 December 2001)

Well, everyone else has called this movie the second coming, so I'll just toss my hat onto the pile. I really see this film as being the best combination of actors, effects, and direction that it could have been. There is no slice of the Multi-verse with a better version, my friends! My only criticism is the music, because it was just so transparent, I would have liked more of a distinctive tune as opposed to Howard Shore's fitting but "safe" score. Oh well, John Williams can't do them all! Anyways, who care about that, I'm nit-picking. Ian McKellen is absolutely perfect, as is Christopher Lee. Lee especially is just so wonderful to see here, as he is a true Tolkien fan who says he re-reads the trilogy every year. You just get the feeling here that you're watching the work of true nit-picking fans like yourself, who agonize with every element they must cut. The mines of Moria alone are worth the price of admission, the Cave Troll is the most impressive and transparent integration of CG to date, bar none. Legolas is an incomparable badass, as is Aragorn, just as they both should be. There's just so much heart in this film it's unbelievable, it washes any bad Hollywood taste from the last couple years right out of my mouth. Thank you Peter Jackson, the cast, WeTA et al. You've made my year!