Best fantasy flick ever

Rating: Null/10 (25 December 2001)

We all know the movie wasn't (couldn't be) entirely faithful to the book...folks who continue to gripe about this really bore me. It's simply what happens during an adaptation, to varying degrees, of course. The real issue is whether in sacrificing certain elements of the story, the character of the tale, the inspiration, the foundation still come across clearly. The answer for Fellowship of the Ring is a resounding YES. This movie is astonishing in its breadth and scope. It tells the story in the best way it can, given that no one (except me, probably) would sit through a 6-hour version.
The action was riveting, the acting superb, the fx credible and spectacularly well-conceived (though rubbery at times, the fx never sank to the cartoonish Harry Potter levels.) And on top of it all, there is actually a worthy stab made at character development, which most fx-heavy movies tend to struggle with.
If you are a fan of fantasy (as Roeper clearly is not), go see this movie...it is everything you ever dreamed a fantasy movie could be.