Christopher Tolkien is right.

Rating: 7/10 (6 January 2002)

I first read the trilogy in the late seventies. Suffered through the Bakshi debacle and the lame version of the Hobbit on tv. When I heard that 3 full length movies were being made, I was completely overjoyed. I waited with great anticipation for over 2 years for the first movie. I read all the reviews from Europe where the film was first shown, and thought that maybe someone finally got it right. Alas, after viewing the movie, I have to agree with Christopher Tolkien, this book cannot be made into a movie that stays faithful to the story. The frenetic pace of the movie was mindboggling. What made the first book so charming and enthralling, was the development of the characters at a leisurely pace, along with the mounting tension and danger that ensues as they get closer to Rivendell. In this movie as soon as the hobbits leave the Shire, the story moves like a runaway freight train. There is no time to understand and care for the plight of the hobbits.
What has upset a lot of true Tolkien fans, is the changes that Jackson made to the story. Most notably the Arwen character. But I must say, though this upset me too, it wasn't as bad as some of the other changes that were made. Where was the party tree? The tree is an important symbol in the Scouring of the Shire in the third book. Frodo and Sam do not meet Merry and Pippin at Farmer Maggots farm. At the Prancing Pony, Frodo accidentally slips on the ring as he falls from a table he is dancing on, not from catching the ring as he is pushed to the floor. Arwen at the ford. Arwen at Rivendell. Arwen mooning over Aragorn at Rivendell. Aragorn telling Frodo to leave the fellowship at the end. Frodo being visible in the boat as Sam jumps in the river. And finally the Lurtz character. All of these changes were unnecessary and detrimental to the telling of this story on film. It's a shame that Jackson felt it was necessary to make these changes, for the film suffers for it. I gave this film a 7 out 10. It's a good movie, not a great one.