One of the best movies ever

Rating: 10/10 (13 January 2002)

I'm often leery of book-to-film adaptions of books. Case-in-point was Dune; it strived very hard to be a good movie, but it just wasn't as good as its literary counterpart. This is not so with Lord of the Rings.
Peter Jackson has done a spectacular, amazing job at adapting the greatest fantasy book in history into an awesome film. Full of sweeping vistas, detailed sets and those moments of sheer, sheer terror, it captures the essence of every location in the book. Hobbiton, green and lush, vibrant with life; Rivendell, a sort of fragile beauty; Moria, dark, gritty and menacing; Lorien, quiet and breathtakingly stunning. I cannot describe the feeling I got as the Fellowship sailed down the Anduin past the Argonath.
I think the best part of the film is how it captured both Gollum and the Balrog: two characters difficult to bring to life, but Jackson's effects team went beyond every single one of my expectations in this case. You'll have to see it for yourself.
Everything from the evil of Saruman to the Eye of Mordor was done as true to the book as it possibly could have been, and I will definitely pardon Peter Jackson for the sacrifices he had to make to make the film flow well, despite the hefty three-hour length. And even so, I heard people saying "That's it? Where's the rest?"
I have to say the movie was worth every minute and every cent. If you haven't gone yet, you are missing out on something truly spectacular. Definitely worth the years of wait and the $8.75 ticket. 10/10