Excellent!!!!

Rating: Null/10 (11 December 2003)

I finally got around to seeing this movie on video. Even on out-of-date VHS, this film was still breathtaking. I've never read the books but I saw the first one. I don't mind long movies (Lawrence of Arabia is probably my favorite movie of all time!) and enjoyed this one. The first part was good and the battle at the end was well done. New Zealand is a great place to make movies.
The movie was very epic. The acting was good as was the story. There weren't really any moments you had to cringe at, as in, parts that were unintentionally funny or bad looking. Fellowship had the battle between Gandalf and Sauruman that looked kind of cheesy with him spinning around on the floor. But any problems the first one had are not present in the second.
There were only a few things I didn't really like. First, I thought the slow motion was kind of overdone. Second, Sean Connery shouldn't have turned down the role of Gandalf. Whoever played him (I'm not sure) did a good job, but Sean Connery is still Sean Connery. That one wasn't really a problem with the movie, but was a way to make the movie better.
The battle at the end was very good. The orcs were well done and the computer animation blended overall with the live action and real backgrounds.
All in all, I liked this movie and want to see the next one in theatres
P.S., The beginning of the 21st century has seen three great trilogies emerge on screen. 1st, as fantasy, Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings; Second, as science-fiction, the Wachowski brothers' Matrix Trilogy; Last, but not least, as both, George Lucas' Star Wars prequels. Any cursory glance at any internet board has shown that fans of these trilogies have heated "debates" that usually involve insulting of the person who is not selling their soul to watch whatever movie they happen to think is the best of all time.
Why can't we just watch the movies, like them for the masterpieces that they are, and just get on with our lives?