A sensory feast, but lacking an equal measure of drama

Rating: 8/10 (15 September 2002)

The film does well to evoke a clear picture, if not a feeling, from the pages of Tolkien's books. The melancholy sense of an age that is about to pass into history is not realized amid all the thrilling action sequences. I rate this film highly because it is technically, visually, aurally stunning, but agree with other comments noting that the film lets us down a bit dramatically. Peter Jackson relies on the FACT of the Ring's power to provide drama, but in my view, this is "telling" us that the power is there rather than "showing" us with any real emotive force. I guess we don't need to be bludgeoned by the natural resonances with our perpetual real-world conflicts, just as when the books themselves were written. Tolkien himself averred that he never intended allegory. To me the stars of the film are not the actors, but the soundtrack and the beauty of the diverse New Zealand locations.