A very impressive and captivating movie

Rating: 10/10 (30 December 2001)

At first I was apprehensive about this movie because of the tremendous media hype, but after seeing it I'm convinced that the praise it has received is not exaggerated. If the other movies in the trilogy are as good as this one, it certainly deserves to be regarded as one of the classics of movie history. The actors are brilliant (especially Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Viggo Mortensen, Christopher Lee and Sean Bean), the scenery is stunning and the special effects are very impressive.
Despite the length - three hours - it never feels tedious. To be frank, the movie is so captivating that I couldn't help feeling slightly disappointed when it eventually came to an end. I could have sat in the cinema all day watching the story unfold.
Unlike most people I know, I've never gotten around to reading Tolkien's 'Lord of the Rings', the trilogy that these movies are based upon. I've made a few attempts, but I've found the sheer size of the work discouraging. I've been recommended to read the books before watching the movie; I suppose it would have enhanced the experience if I had, but I had no problem enjoying the movie anyway. In fact, it has made me curious about reading the books.