An Instant Legend

Rating: 10/10 (29 March 2003)

How to make a Legend:
Take a great and/or timeless story Add a twist to it (in this case a ring that controls the fate of the world) Put some music theme(s) that plays throughout the movie/series every now and then Introduce great and memorable characters to the mix Kill off some loveable characters Make the situation seem hopeless Top it off with a great ending or an ending open for a sequel
This is Lord of the Rings, book and movie.
Acting: 10/10 The acting totaly blew me away for this movie. Even Liv Tyler (who has an inscrutable reputation for her acting) did a tremendous job as Arwen. Ian McKellan's performance stands out the most. Orlando Bloom honestly didn't have as many lines as the others, but did a great job as Legolas. PJ made a smart movie replacing Stuart Townsend with Viggo Mortensen. Viggo is the exact right age and has the exact right look that Aragorn should have. John Rhys-Davies played out Gimli much like he was in the book. Dominic Monaghan did a good job as Merry and acted out the lines like he really meant it. Pippin's character was portrayed closest to his character in the book thanks to Billy Boyd. Sean Astin playing Sam was right on and almost portrayed closest to his character in the book if only it showed more of his character changing and becoming more brave (later depicted more in The Two Towers and then even more in Return of the King).Elijah Wood is pretty much the only person who could get Frodo's character right and transform him both from a cheery, upbeat hobbit to a depressed and frightened hero while at the same time showing the ring's corruption on him (mostly shown in The Two Towers, but there is the odd hint here and there).Cate Blanchette and Christopher Lee were pretty much born for the rolls of Galadriel and Saruman. Elrond has a great character tone that could only be brought on by Hugo Weaving. Sadly though, Sean Bean's acting is short lived throughout the trilogy. ( For those who have seen the movie/read the books you know what i'm talking about and for those who haven't, see the movie/read the book to find out)
Story: 9/10 The only reason this didn't get 10/10 is because, to put it blandly, the idea of a ring controlling the fate of mankind does sound farfetched. However Tolkien (pronounced Tol-KEEN) put such a vivid story behind it that to this day its amazingly fresh. The story itself fits in with the problems of our time such as the recent war and even everyday life. Friends, Courage, Sacrafice, Rising up against the odds. Mind you, Tolkien was in both World Wars so its bound to have that sort of theme in it.
Music: 11/10 What many composer's fail to incorporate into their movies, Howard Shore does in this. Every place pretty much has its own theme and Howard Shore sticks to this idea throughout the entire Trilogy. The Uruk-Hai, Mordor, The Shire. All has its own theme. The choir really adds to the experience. Especially in the 2 very emotional death scenes through the movie. The score on its own is beautiful and touching. If the score makes you cry, then the movie will make you bawl your eyes out. Enough said.
Visual Effects: 10/10 From Special Effects to camera tricks, PJ applied the newest tricks to make the Trilogy seem as real as possible. Hobbits are short, wizards are tall. All thanks to camera tricks and camera angles. Amazingly, the movie keeps its realism even from the lack of gore and blood. It's even more amazing when they do it in The Two Towers (still managing to only get a 14A rating). MASSIVE helped acomplish all the large battle scenes (The Prologue, Moria, so on)
Overall: 40/40
One Word Review: Soincrediblyamazingitsalreadyalegend

Good Enough?