Great visuals are undermined by rushed pace

Rating: 7/10 (2 February 2002)

Peter Jackson, who must be one of the greatest visual directors working today, does as much as he can with the sheer volume of material that he has to fit into one movie (albeit in 3.5 hours), but , due to the overwhelming detail of Tolkien's epic, produces a frenetically-paced, somewhat unidimensional, film. In the end, it feels as though every scene was comprised of the good guys being hunted or exposed to a different foe, each of which is "of great power", as Gandalf describes it in his best sage's voice The casting and performances are, unfortunately, the other weakness of the film. Gandalf, Bilbo Baggins, and Sharuman do decent jobs, but I have to question the choices of Elijah Wood, a selection surely based exclusively on his elfin physical traits, and the leader of the elves, the "Hello, Mr. Anderson" guy from The Matrix, a chronic overactor who turns his characters into parodies of themselves. Fortunately, the bad guys are the stars of this movie, and, with them, Peter Jackson does an excellent job.