A decent film, nothing more, nothing less.

Rating: 7/10 (10 February 2005)

I am astounded by the sheer magnitude of praise that this film, and its two predecessors, has received.
This film is overstuffed, overacted, and over-directed, and yet, it elicits a fanatical following of kool-aid drinkers who bought into the hype. There are just too many things wrong with this film and the series in general for me to look at it in an objective manner and say it is one of the best films of all time.
It's definitely not Best Picture-worthy, but it can hold its head high as one of the better sci-fi/fantasy films in cinema history. Maybe it's just my non-conformist nature, but I find myself, a year removed from the last release of the three LOTR films, questioning the magnetic power of this lumbering behemoth of a film.
I just find myself in awe of the rabid following this movie has generated.
It's good, not great. Well-made (to an extent), but overdone at times.
7 out of 10