An excellent look at Tolkien's world

Rating: 10/10 (14 February 2002)

First off, let me say that my rating of this film was a 10, because I felt it fully (and breathtakingly) conveyed the feeling of the novel. Having said that, I find that it diminishes somewhat with successive viewings, though I would not take away from the awe I felt in leaving the theater that first time. I have to agree with other commentators that the CGI effects were jumpy, but that in and of itself does not detract greatly from the overall feel of the film. The characters were for the most part well realized, though some were underdeveloped. My biggest fault there would be the relationship between Legolas and Gimli, which the books would show to be budding at the time of the first film. Hopefully the lack of relationship will be remedied in The Two Towers. The otherworldliness of the elves of Lorien was a nice touch, and much like I had envisioned it, though this was markedly absent from the elves of Rivendell. Hugo Weaving I felt was miscast as Elrond (sorry Hugo). He just isn't pretty enough to be an elf, and was a little too angry for the role. (perhaps I'm influenced by the animated version's bland and disconnected Elrond)
All in all, Jackson has painted a very nice picture of Tolkien's grand and epic vision (despite my little nitpicks). The scope of the film was on par with that of the novel, and was an excellent interpretation of such a dense story.