A Heck of an Enjoyable Film

Rating: 9/10 (19 December 2001)

I saw a midnight showing on opening night, and it was one of those great audiences that applauds at all the right parts. I've never been a Tolkien fanatic, and I only recently finished the first book, so it was still fresh in my mind when I watched the movie. There were some changes from the book -- some necessary for pacing and length purposes, and then some minor ones that bothered me, but didn't really detract from my enjoyment of the film. All of the actors put in exceptional performances -- especially Ian McKellen, Elijah Wood, Sean Bean, and Ian Holm -- though, really, probably everyone deserves accolades. I just named them because they were all my personal favorites.
The movie looked perfect, visually; Hobbiton, Rivendell, and Lothlorien were exactly as I pictured them; many of the panoramic landscapes may as well have come from a painting, and the characters and costumes were right on-target. Scenes such as the Fellowship sailing between the two great stone kings were just breathtaking, and I'm looking forward to getting the DVD already, just to savor all those shots I didn't get enough time to enjoy in the film. Nothing was skimped on, and you can tell that the creators really put in the effort to render Middle Earth as Tolkien had written it.
All in all, I hope this series of films will show future directors what fantasy movies *should* be.