Unfounded apprehensions

Rating: 10/10 (8 January 2002)

Having read and dissected the Tolkein classic over and over again for 30 years, it was with considerable trepidation that I made my way to the cinema on Dec. 19th. After 30 minutes, I feared that my apprehensions and reservations would be justified. There were huge liberties taken with the original text in this period of the movie. But the remaining two hours plus more than allayed any fears. It was as if a new, yet strangely familiar, epic was unfolding before me. I had many times to remind myself that I knew the story, because what transpired was awe-inspiring in its own right. I was simply speechless at the end. A masterpiece.