***SPOLIERS***

Rating: 7/10 (30 June 2004)

OK guys, I agree this is a "master piece" of film making, no doubt; However, what is Frodo touted as the hero here? The little hobbit failed his task miserably. Sam is the real hero and in my opinion, his character was enjoyable. Frodo's character was not. Ya, always entrust a great task to a person who takes bad advice (keeps telling Same in all 3 movies "you are right Sam" but chooses to ignore his advice none the less, esp about that dirty little "Gollum".. Then he finally gets to the Mountain where he needs to destroy the ring, only to turn around to Sam and tell him "The Ring is mine", puts it on, and the only reason the damned ring gets destroyed is because Frodo fights for it back with Gollum.. I sure wish they would have killed off Frodo in the first film!! all that wisdom and they could not choose the right guy for the job?
Frodo the hero? They should have taken Sam into The West, but instead they take someone who if he had his own way, middle earth would have been the fire eye, "also a moron for a villain" Saron's!! I bet you Frodo found a way to sink that nice little ship!!
Now we can see why all these morons got into this whole mess in the first place? BAD DECISION MAKING will screw up 3000 years everytime!!
Really now, 13 months to defeat Sauron and destroy The Ring right?
Yet all the wisdom of the characters, esp Gahndaff, and he cant figure out that all they needed to do was get on of those "eagles" to fly Frodo (well not Frodo, but Sam, since Frodo is an idiot) over Mt Doom and drop the ring into the Mountain? haha!!
Oh but we cannot have that; That would mean one 2 hour movie!!
I have never read the book, and I do not think I want to!!
Well having said all of the above, the rest of the series, from the 2nd movie on, has great battle scenes, plots and real intelligent and well thought out sequences.
For me the whole "Destroying the ring" deal was a total absurdity!
Take the Ring away and we have "The Lord of The Battles" because that is where the real strength of these movies reside!!