Not a bad movie, but doesn't live up to the hype.

Rating: 10/10 (20 December 2001)

The movie is good, very good actually, but has a few problems. I didn't read the books so I can't comment on how close it adheres to the original plot, but to be honest, I don't think that that's what's important in any movie at all. Anyway, the CGI scenery, monsters, magical effects are all top notch. Acting is very good and the characters and their costumes are nicely done. Although, I really hated the Orcs in this movie. I'm not into fantasy, so I don't know what they should look like, but the ones in this movie looked weird. They tried to make them look intimidating, but over did it, and wound up making them look more amusing then scary. The pacing could also use a little tweaking and the entire movie should be a little shorter. My rear end was sore after sitting in one place for 3 hours. These problems aside, I think the movie is very good and deserves to be seen not only by children. So if your kids drag you to see it, don't resist - you just might enjoy it.