As flawless as a MOVIE can get.

Rating: Null/10 (11 August 2002)

I was never a fan of the Lord of the Rings books, and I still am not. I am a fan of the movies BASED off of the books (ok sure, I haven't seen the other two movies, but if they are anything like this one, I'll love them). People seem to not understand that a movie that is based off of a book is simply that, based, not a page-by-page visual omage to the book. So when I hear people whine and moan about how they took out elements from the book, I want to slap them.
I think this movie is as perfect as it gets. The story is addictive and had me locked on for the whole 3 hour ride. All of the actors WERE their characters, that's how good their acting was. The special effects are pretty much seamless. And the scenery, oh my god, it's really hard to believe that the beautiful landscape that is Middle-Earth, is simply in New Zealand. And the cinematography and score of this movie were so effective, they made it seem like there was so much power and evil in just a little gold ring.
So what I am saying is that what you must do is forget everything about the book, a book and a movie are two separate things, even if the plot of the movie was based off the book. So just grab a 3-hour window, get some popcorn, and a really good TV and watch a flawless as it gets movie. You'll wish Christmas would come early for the next two years.