The best movie of all time!

Rating: 10/10 (26 March 2002)

Well I was never a big fan of Tolkien's books growing up. I never even saw the old Bashki version of the movie. I was never forced to read them, but maybe they were just too wordy for a 10-yr old. I re-read them a few years back, and then read them again before the movie was released. I was blown away...it's simply one of, if not the best story of all time.
Tolkien has a wonderful knack for over describing everything. At first glance, this might irritate some who find the lengthy descriptives boring. But with that in mind, his style of writing allows the reader to have a VIVID picture of Middle Earth. During watching this film, I was blown away at how everything was just as I had imagined it. It's perfect...the only thing in the film that did bother me was that Arwen was introduced too early, and the movie is very long. It's tough to have to sit through without going to the bathroom, but good enough that you won't want to leave your seat.
As far as the cast...it was nigh-perfect. Ian McKellen's GANDALF was impeccable. Viggo Mortensen as STRIDER was also a wise choice...and Christopher Lee as SARUMAN was the most perfectly cast character. Saruman, in fact, was my favorite character of the whole story. So I can't wait for THE TWO TOWERS, since Saruman plays a major role (& also sees his own downfall) in the 2nd chapter of the trilogy.
This movie is AWESOME. It's without a doubt the best movie of the last 10 years. Maybe not the best of all time...but only time will tell! GO SEE IT!