Extremely Violent, but Impressive Special Effects

Rating: Null/10 (23 July 2003)

It disappoints me that so many people thought this movie was great. Although the sets, costumes, and special effects are FANTASTIC, the movie can't stand on it's own! There's really no excuse for this - it's perfectly possible to tell a three-part story in parts that have a storyline and plot of their own. I found the movie to be tedious and had to continually explain what was supposed to be happening to the kids with me.
Also, director Peter Jackson has a sadly different vision for The Lord of the Rings (LotR) than that of author J.R.R. Tolkien. Tolkien did not celebrate war, and while the heroic leader Aragorn practices it, it is out of necessity rather than a desire for glory. In the book, this makes the ambitious and aggressive warrior Boromir a foil for him and the scholarly Faramir. That is also why there are so few female leads in the book - the story is about the darkness of power-mongering and the decay of civilization - Tolkien's ideas of female characteristics were creativity, nurture, and management. The movie, on the other hand, relies heavily on the excitement of violent conflict as a substitute for plot and character development. That may make the film unintentionally relevant in today's political climate, but at a pitiful price. Tolkien was a scholar who had experienced the devastation of war (WWI) first hand, and returned to celebrate culture and the magic of language and history. He had a message that our times still need to hear.