Awesome movie, but hamstrung by a few details...

Rating: 9/10 (16 January 2003)

There is no denying that Peter Jackson has done an incredible job in bringing Tolkien's world to life. It truly is a special movie... the acting and directing are amongst the best you will ever see, and somewhat unusually for a movie with this much money behind it, the special effects add to, rather than detract from, the spectacle.
However, there are a few details ('bugs' maybe?) that really annoyed me about the movie. When Aragorn, Legolas and Ghimli are tracking the Urakai across the plains, the dwarf kept falling behind but by the next cut had miraculously caught up again. Then, when they encountered the horsemen, there were nowhere near 2000 of them; yet when Aragorn confronts the king, he claims that was their number. Finally, when the king rides out for his last stand, there are very few of his men left (especially in the scenes in the hall directly before they ride out) - yet once Gandalf and the rescue party turn up, more of them suddenly appear out of nowhere.
The details that Tolkien put into his book are part of what makes the stories so great, and it disappointed me just a little that such obvious (to me, anyway) things were overlooked.
Nonetheless, an awesome cinematic experience.