Spectacular....and very disappointing.

Rating: Null/10 (11 September 2002)

A series of spectacular set-pieces linked by scenes lacking drama. The costumes and scenery are all one could wish for in filming Tolkien's epic but it is let down badly by a very poor script. The director, Peter Jackson, couldn't tell a story for toffee; he spends his time attempting to bludgeon the audience with vivid pictures rather than giving actors lines and letting them act. Quite often it is rather boring and sitting through it for 3 hours is a test of endurance.
It is to Tolkien's Lord of the Rings what "Braveheart" is to Scottish History, i.e. exciting at times and often showy but falling short of its great theme.