There is hope for story driven effect films...

Rating: Null/10 (19 December 2001)

I feel this could be appreciated as a stand alone piece, but I think a small understanding of The Hobbit or a brief introduction to the mythology of Middle Earth could help. As far as die hard Tolkien fans are concerned, I think that they will have no problem with this adaptation.
It's been quite some time since I read these books, but it didn't seem to matter. Immediately this film presented an interesting introduction and back story without burdening the viewer with useless detail.
And it only got better. Although a few (very few) of the effects were not completely desirable, Peter Jackson created a landscape of a scope I have not seen in quite some time. He presented Middle Earth as a reality. He maintained a continuous story of interest, with characters that came to life. The cinematography was tremendous from the close-ups of characters, to the sweeping vistas. The battle choreography was so realistic, it left me wondering how many deaths they covered up. And last, but by far not least, the acting was magnificent! There wasn't one performance I found lacking.
BRAVO!
I hope the award committees take note as well as filmmakers of all genres.
I would compare this to Star Wars The Phantom Menace, excepts, that George Lucas has a lot to relearn about Fantasy Film Making. LOTR will stand as a milestone to be surpassed as the first Star Wars Trilogy once did.