Just another praising comment on the biggest film of our time

Rating: 9/10 (5 January 2005)

This film has been praised to high heavens by everyone, it is currently #2 in the IMDb highest-voted movies of all time-list and it won 11 of the most wanted of all movie prices, including Best Picture. So why should I write another review of it? I probably won't have anything new to say, unless I absolutely loathed the film. Which is the furthest from the truth as can be. I'm writing this simply for my love for the biggest film of our time.
This film as anything finally shows us how perfectly Peter Jackson has captured the book. I still don't think anyone could make a better adaptation. Jackson was wise enough to choose actors instead of stars in the roles as this part requires them more than anything. And although I was suspicious at first, all the hobbit actors hit just the right spot, Billy Boyd and Dom Monaghan ARE more than just token comic reliefs and Sean Astin really shines this time around as the bravest hobbit of them all Samwise "the brave" Gamgee. Without great actors, this movie could feel like a regular hack 'n slash action movie set in a fantasy world, but with great actor work and a great script the story's themes of friendship, courage and sacrifice are really the main attractions, not just the stunning action scenes. Just like in the good ole epics like Lawrence of Arabia.
Something that should also be noted in the trilogy is the wonderful music of Howard Shore. Truly, he is the new John Williams, who can create noticeable and endlessly hummable main themes, threatening pre-battle music or soft, idyllic music for a simple village like Hobbiton. The viewer feels easier the atmosphere of the location with the help of fitting music. And it couldn't fit better than in this one.
It's notable now that the most respected directors, such as Quentin Tarantino and Steven Spielberg talk regularly against using too many fake-looking computer-effects in movies. I agree that the traditional effect-making is usually more stunning and some classics, like the Thing or An American Werewolf in London couldn't have the same effect if they were made with computers. But The Lord of the Rings trilogy really shows that sometimes CGI can be as magical. They probably couldn't have made the epic battle scenes or characters like Gollum without computers. The trick seems to be to use them just the right amount and not just to attract the viewers, as most movies nowadays do, but to help the story, as they did in this one.
If some downsides should be mentioned, it would be that even with 3 1/2 hours in the regular cut, the story doesn't focus enough on some things and tells a little too much of some other things. Most people think, that leaving Saruman out was a mistake. I agree, but I'd rather had seen the Houses of Healing scene between Eowyn and Faramir. The movie needs also some tenderness and at least one fully written female character. Fortunatlelly, these scenes are on the DVD and also there's plenty of Miranda Otto otherwise in the theatrical cut.
***** (10/10, the best films I've seen #2)
The Best Part (SPOILER): A very hard choice, but I would say the part when Gollum and Frodo have a final fight from the ring inside Mount Doom as Aragorn and co. fight Sauron's immense army is the most effective for me