An average movie at best

Rating: 10/10 (28 December 2001)

This is not a great movie and in no way deserves to be ranked #1 of all time. Innumerable camera and lighting tricks, stilted dialogue, a complete lack of character development, and a persistent dark, gothic feel--including constant, over-the-top "mood" music--destroy its enjoyability. It looks like all of these people who ranked it a "10" are so in love with Tolkien's story that they are blinded to the movie's lack of quality. And yes, just in case anyone is wondering, I have read the Hobbit and the LoR trilogy--at the age of 12, in my mid-teens, and I am currently reading them to my 7 year old son.