The saga Tolkien was looking for

Rating: 10/10 (28 December 2001)

A lot of the publicity around the launch (in the UK anyway) pointed to Tolkien's ideal of creating an 'English' saga. I must admit I'd not really got this from the book, but certainly did from the film.
Like the Norse sagas, there was great interaction between the 'powerful' and ordinary people. And like a lot of sagas, the not so powerful are key in the end.
Overall Tolkien's vision plus Jackson's interpretation achieves a masterpiece... one which I think will improve over time - I'd certainly get more from a second viewing.