The ultimate epic?

Rating: 10/10 (19 December 2001)

It's LOUD! Man was it loud. It's long. And it's BIG! I mean massivebig. Ian McKellan's face takes up the whole screen. And it's very, very good. It's Star Wars good (and the comparison with SW doesn't just stop at 'good'. Watching LotR just shows how incredibly derivative Lucas was) People will be dissapointed, there's been a lot of hype, everyone that's read the book holds it dear to their heart (and there simply isn't enough cash in the world to budget a film to equal one person's imagination.)
You can only judge the film on it's own merits, and by that standard it's simply one of the most breathtaking pieces of cinema i've been lucky enough to see. It's so richly and meticulously detailed that you don't have to *try* to become involved, to believe. You just do. Everything just works so well. The towering, powerful but vulnerable Gandalf. The innocent, brave, resiliant Frodo. Classicly heroic Aragorn. Fiercely loyal (and clearly gay) Samwise. The grace of the Elves, and the beauty of their language. The characters are so deep, so full of life.
Be patient. It starts slow. Once the history unfolds, the pace starts to gradually rise. And rise. And before you know it, hell's breaking loose and you're being whisked along for the ride. Visually, you've never seen anything like it. I just walked about 4 miles to get home (serious lack of taxis) and it was all i could think about. Indellible images. Leave work right now, go to the local cinema and beg them to give you a ticket for the next performance.