The most epical story on screen

Rating: 10/10 (3 February 2002)

There have been mixed reviews of "The Fellowship of the Ring", but more than 3/4's of them have been in the movie's favour. Without regard to the critics, this is the best film I have ever seen. (I'd have to point out that I am only 17, I haven't seen "The Godfather" but I do go to the cinema nearly twice a month!)
It is a truly beautiful film - the special effects are literally jaw dropping; the swoops of the camera are amazing and leave you breathless! The acting is perfect, Ian McKellan portrays Gandalf exactly as I had thought of him in the book, and although Elijah Wood didn't look very hobbit-ish (however, the special effects do help, however _little_ they may be ...) he was a brilliant Frodo.
The magnificent score by Howard Shore compliments the film, when the music swells you can -feel- it, and it adds to the film's journey of your emotions.
I have never cried so much at a film - it is simply so beautiful - the strength of the friendships within the Fellowship, the downfalls ... you're there with them, the viewer is experiencing the character's feelings and what they are going through on-screen. I was literally choked at the beauty of it all, and left the cinema emotionally exhausted.
Some of the things they left out, like Tom Bombadill I was a little disappointed about, but others, like the dialogue (which is very lengthy in the book) which shows the development of friendship between the Nine, would have made the movie far bigger than it is. Besides that, the acting of the characters said more than any dialogue could.
The exclusion of females in the book is a little disappointing, and I was glad that Peter Jackson included the love story between Arwen and Aragorn. (which, contary to what people think, IS included in The Lord of The Rings story - it is in the Appendix at the back of the book)
I've already written far more than I intended, but no amount of words can say how beautifully MAGNIFICENT this film is - the only thing you can do is go and see it, watch it in the cinema, in it's finest form, and "strap yourself in". A true epic.