2nd time around still a very good film

Rating: 10/10 (11 January 2002)

I saw this one in the theatre for the second time which I have not done since the advent of VHS. As a fan of the book my one complaint is there were some very good things left out which I regret will not be seen until the film is remade again in 20 years. There is simply too much material and for those who haven't read the book this is a shame. I don't doubt Jackson could have made the film quite a bit better if he had had the desire and license to take a hatchet to the source material and fashion it into a more conventional screenplay. This really would have involved working some level of closure into FOTR that was was not in the book. Has there ever been another movie made that was so clearly only a third of the whole story? I am really surprised at how many non readers of the book enjoyed the film. This is one movie where people where people who saw the film first will be blown away by the book.