Impressive

Rating: 8/10 (22 January 2002)

I was expecting to be disappointed by the realization of this fantasy classic (as I was by David Lynch's Dune, for example), but the integration of live and animated effects are seamless and the casting right on target. The settings and characters were generally as good or better than my imagination. The fight choreography is first rate. I could nit-pick, but the film's greatest difficulties are a result of cramming hundreds of pages of epic into a three hour film, and the filmmakers have made a valiant effort in this regard. The going might be tough for anyone who is not familiar with the original text, but, having read the books, I found the movie to be a gem.