Maybe not "the best", but certainly one of the best.

Rating: 10/10 (4 January 2002)

I don't think any movie, not even the Godfather is free of critics, yet I was still surprised to see the endless list of IMDB commentators who hated this movie. After reading some of the comments, you'd think the movie was comparable to Superman IV. Granted, it might not have been the best movie ever made, but to call it "trash" or a "waste of money" is not only grossly unfair to the movie and its producers, but equally gives very little merit to IMDB's rating system.
For starters, I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. I've read the series several times throughout my life and went into the theatres two weeks after it opened hearing mixed reviews, yet still having high expectations. To say that my expectations were blown away is an understatement. Visual effects aside, the movie evoked the same emotions and the same feelings that were generated when I read the book. For this reason, even though parts of the storyline were altered or cut (necessarily), the movie was a fantastic success.
Would I call it the best movie ever? Probably not. I can't even answer the question, "What's your favorite movie of all time?" But, I can confidently say, as many already have, that it's the BEST motion picture for this genre EVER. I noticed that most of the critics of this film hate the fantasy genre, find a lack of character development, or thought the movie was unbearably long. Yes, it is long. Yes, it has a ton of characters. But let's remember that this is an adaptation of a story of epic proportions. It wouldn't do the story any justice to cut the length, and the only way characters can be developed is by prolonging the movie even more. I thought the movie was perfect the way it was, and for what it tried to do. And for that, I give it a 10.