Almost a religious experience.

Rating: 10/10 (16 March 2002)

I have seen this movie again, and if anything, I enjoyed it even more than last time. The scale of Peter Jackson's achievement in filming this epic is easy to miss. When you consider the depth of the subject matter, it is amazing that the director has managed to include so much. And yet he has. What's more, all the characters, and all the places, seem real. This is very different from the usual cardboard cliches that are the norm in Hollywood.
This movie is simply overwhelming, although there is nothing simple about it. I do think that you need to pay attention, and invest yourself into it, to get the most out of it. If you're after a brain-dead "Tomb Raider" type of thrill, you may find it hard going, because the adventure is interwoven with real background, real plot, real character, and you need patience. But how that patience is rewarded!
I could go on for hours about various aspects of the film, but I have to highlight Howard Shore's incredible score. It is superb, and will be the first movie score I will buy since James Horner's Titanic. (Incidentally, Titanic was a wonderful film, my previous favourite, but Fellowship of the Ring is better. And it is a much stronger moral tale to boot).
I think, after considered reflection, that this is just about the best movie I have ever seen. And I'm going to see it yet again! If that makes me seem sad, so be it!
Awesome.