Best movie I've seen in a long time

Rating: 9/10 (24 December 2002)

First off, I just want to say that I have not read the actual books, so can't compare them to the movie.
This was the best three hours I have had in a movie theater, period. The cinematography was great and the acting was excellent. Gollum, who was focused on a lot of the movie, was done very well. I was afraid we would have another "Jar Jar Binks" character. Fortunately he isn't annoying, and is intriguing enough that you can't help but watch. Although I'll admit some of his close-ups were a little overdone (too drawn out).
As for the numeric rating, there are a few things that I take into consideration; variety and intelligence are the main two. When I talk about variety, I am talking about all the different elements that are in a movie. Not everyone enjoys the same thing in a movie, so to me variety is key to have something everyone will enjoy. This movie does just that. There is comedy, action, suspense, romance, sentimental moments, fantasy, and that's just what I can think of right now. There will be at least one point in this movie that practically everyone will enjoy.
Intelligence can be described as the think-ability factor; do you have to think a little when watching it? Very few movies out there are like this. The majority of films present everything to you and leaves you, the viewer, with nothing to really think of. The movie is presented in an interesting way, there are three main story lines happening throughout the film. You basically are following one story line for a while, then it moves over to something else. Other's probably describe this as "jumping around". I personally enjoyed it when after a few minutes into the movie I realized that's what was happening. It makes you think. You have to almost construct three stories happening at the same time. I also liked the fact there was no recap at the beginning of the film, it just starts. That being said, if you haven't seen the first one, you will not enjoy this at all.
Since both of those rated really well, and I enjoyed it, that's why I'm giving it a 10 out of 10