Breathtaking

Rating: 10/10 (19 December 2001)

It's amazing just how the film works so well bringing the book to life with minimal deviation from what was hardly written as a screenplay. The sweep, the verve of the thing had me gulping throughout three hours that whizzed by. Elijah Wood perfectly captures the 'haunted' quality that I always imagined Frodo had, and the other characters are just as impressive - I had my doubts before the film re: Viggo Mortensen, but they were allayed immediately. Can't see the point of 'beefing up' Arwen's role, given there's hardly any extra scenage for her bar replacing Glorfindel - maybe in Two Towers & Return of the King.
Have to mention the short cut to mushrooms and the trolls' glade... nice touches for Tolkien fans
Can't wait to see it again!