Tolkien would be proud...

Rating: 8/10 (30 June 2005)

It has been tossed around in Hollywood for a long time. The very idea of making a big-budget feature film of the timeless novels is intoxicating. But how do you create a film that is true to the stories (and thus not going to upset the legions of rabid fans that can practically quote the books from start to finish) and still make a film that will attract the non-rabid fan who has vaguely heard of the existence of these books by some author from World War I? Well, I do not claim to be a rabid fan (I read the books, I liked the books, and have felt for a long time that they could make a good movie). I also do not claim to be some sort of insider that can give someone the secret tot he process that lead to this masterpiece. But i can say that not since _The Godfather_ have I been this impressed with the overall production values of a movie. The cast, crew, writers, producers, and very talented director managed to tell a very good version of the first book's tale...
...and as an adaptation, I give the movie a "9/10" (perhaps even as high as "9.5/10") -- but as a stand-alone film, it has to drop to "8/10" because the film leaves you hanging (much as the books did) at the end with no resolution to *anything* what-so-ever.
Additionally, there is no telling at all the story of "why" the various people met in the Elfin lands to discuss this powerful ring; and the tale of Boromir (an important one, indeed) is not explained so that his betrayal and fate can be understood. It is one of those points that, without it, cause one to not really understand the actions this poor man takes in the film.
Still, despite these shortcomings, the film is a fantastic piece of work that I highly recommend to anyone and everyone. But: I recommend that you watch the extended cut DVD version, and that you plan to sit down for all three films -- because this is not (technically) a stand-alone film. It is just Act 1 of a 3 Act screenplay.