Pretty good, but don't drink the latte

Rating: 7/10 (29 December 2001)

I've treated myself to two of the magical spectacles of the season, this one, and Harry Potter, and my money's on Harry Potter, simply because it didn't take itself so seriously, and at such length, as does this first instalment of the Tolkien Trilogy.
Okay, so maybe my big mistake was the large latte at the beginning of a LONG flick, but jeesh, maybe an intermission was warranted?
One feature of this movie that drew me to it, was the thought I missed something when I put the book down in my early '20s, unable to make myself continue, avid reader though I am. My imagination was captured by the t.v. teaser, with Liv Tyler telling Frodo (paraphrased): "this task was given to you -- if you do not not succeed in carrying it out, no one will." What I like about that is its beauty as a metaphor for life, for all our lives, not just those of hobbits and heroes. In essence, we are all given the special task of our own life, and if we do not succeed in our quest to live our own life to the hilt, then no one will.
This film, though, doesn't quite live up to the large metaphors and the deep symbolism I went looking for. It's entertaining, nothing too extraordinary, and it does lag considerably, at times, ESPECIALLY if you had the latte.