The magic and spirit makes up for the flaws

Rating: 9/10 (11 January 2002)

As a long -time Tolkien geek I spent the first time I watched the film in shock. Both in 'Wow, that looks *awsome*' and in 'hey, what the hell happened to..' ways.
The second time I went to see it I could enjoy the film for what it was without comparing it to the book all the time - and I had a most enjoyable time.
No, it did not get everything exactly right. I missed certain things from the book (though not, I have to say, Tom Bombadil). I missed certain plots from the book. I thought the hobbits were given rather less credit than they deserved (Frodo spending half of the film dead/ill/having to be carried/etc). I wasn't happy about the portraying of Galadriel (I'd have liked to see more of the good-Galadriel).
I felt that a lot of scenes had been cut (no doubt at great pain for the makers) that were needed to form a good image of the situation.
Yet still, it got a lot right. Most of the characters were spot on (to me at least), there was some _great_ acting, and most of all, it managed to capture the magic of Tolkien's writing. Not everything could be included, but there was a story below the surface. Little details put in just for the sheer hell of it - even though maybe 5% of the viewers would notice/recognize.
That showed to me that there was someone on the team who not only knew about this pretty obscure bit of Tolkien-lore, but also felt it was somehow important enough to include. And that is the strength of this project - there's heart in it.