Brilliant acting and effects for one of the best books ever

Rating: 10/10 (28 January 2002)

Going in to this film as a Tolkien purist, I had to force myself to view it as merely related to the book. In that context, I thought the film was fantastic. Sure, there was no Tom Bombadil, no Barrow-Downs, nor the Old Forest, but fortunately, there wasn't a XenArwen, either!
I thought Peter Jackson did a wonderful job of bringing the scope and sense of "epic" to Tolkien's brilliantly conceived yarn. The effects were amazing (except for the corny, video-game feeling of Legolas on the Cave Troll scene) and the acting was spot-on. In particular, Elijah Wood as Frodo and Sir Ian McKellen as Gandalf were terrific.
One thing I appreciated as a Tolkien junkie, although it appears that the Balrog has wings, one who has come down on the other side of the fence could probably still argue that they do not. I thought they were rendered as fairly insubstantial things, perhaps to make it slightly ambiguous.
All in all, a masterful film from Peter Jackson -- better even, then Heavenly Creatures.