Ambitious, yet unengaging

Rating: 1/10 (22 December 2002)

First let me just compliment everyone involved in the production of this movie for their ambition. This was a monumental project, and they get a lot of things right, unlike any other. But the things they get wrong are really wrong. Most of the blame falls on the director Peter Jackson. Yes, he did play a HUGE part in bringing this thing together, and his organizational skills amazing, but he lacks skill as a storyteller, and his roots as the director of The Frighteners and Braindead really show through. Although the images put on the screen are downright amazing, with the exception of portions of the Battle of Helm's Deep, I don't think I was ever really engaged during this movie (or Fellowship of the Ring for that matter) with any of the characters or the story. And this is a tough feat considering that the characters and story are very well drawn. But there's nothing really connecting the audience with the movie. It's like looking at a picture taken of the Mona Lisa. Although you see everything that is on the painting, there's just something missing when compared to looking at the real thing.
Plus, in my opinion, there were some HUGE fumbles in my opinion. Gollum got downright irritating at the end of the movie. Ok, we get it, he's having a moral crisis. We got it the first three times you told us. Say it and move on. And the one part they got right--the Battle of Helm's Deep--was almost completely destroyed when they cut away to Merry and Pippin yackin with Treebeard. Couldn't they have done this a little earlier? And then intercut Helm's Deep with the tree battle. That's just plain filmmaking 101. When you're at the end (even in a movie without an end) you shouldn't be setting things up FOR the end. That's what the prior 2 hours was for.
There's a lot more nitpicking I can do. And I know a lot of people will violently disagree with me. But just wait a few years. Or even for the second viewing. I think this is one of those movies where upon first seeing it, it seems really good, but the more you think about it, the more flaws just start jumping out at you.