What a colossal waste of time!

Rating: Null/10 (26 December 2002)

Why don't they make producers put disclaimers on movie posters like they do with cigarettes and prescription drugs that could have potentially negative side effects? Something like "Based very loosely on the book of the same title but don't get your hopes up" would have been appreciated. Then at least I could have waited for the DVD rental and not been duped out of the full price of a movie ticket. I felt really cheated after having seen this Disneyfied crapfest that relied heavily on special effects to give it the momentum it otherwise lacked. People who love literature just need to get used to the fact that American filmakers will never trust the American public enough to make a film that is true to the literature that inspired the film. If you don't have a problem with not being true to the original creation then this ranks up there with any other special effects extravaganza. This film lacked the passion and the nobility of the book. The characters said and did things that were not in the book and that went completely against the grain of the book. On a positive note, I'm glad Tolkein himself didn't have to see this parody. He would have been insulted.