Rating: 
Summary: wow!
Review: all I can say after catching the midnight showing (yep, i just got up!) is "wow" that was an incredible experience! especially with THX! there were a few changes made (where was Tom Bombidil?! why are they adding connections to the 2 towers?) but for the most part they were welcome changes. the music was just incredible, and there were times when I was on the edge of my seat even though I knew exactly what would happen next!My only gripe is that I have to wait a _year_ before I can see the 2 towers, this is the 1st series of the 21st century that will make you wait for parts 2 and 3. But that is what the DVDs will be for :) I've got to go see it again!
Rating:
Summary: Unbelievable -- An Epic that Lives up to the Hype & Beyond
Review: I do not know how some people can give this movie below 5 stars... sure, there is some director's license to mend the movie (otherwise it would be 10 installments not three... :) but the acting and special effects and the sheer grandness of the journey is shown with style, charisma, an beauty. I suggest that everyone watch this movie -- even my wife, a non-Fantasy fan, thoroughly enjoyed this movie. A solid movie not just for Tolkien fans...
Rating:
Summary: All That I'd Imagined
Review: This film took a remarkable amount of work, both to make, and to figure out what matarial to include from the books. And after spending the last week-and-a-half searching out every internet article I could find about this movie, I went in to it fully aware of every effect, every decision, every actor, every prop, and everything else. Within twenty minutes, all of this had vanished from my mind. Although I've read all the books, they vanished, in part, from my awareness... And the books are *not* a pre-requisite. Though the initial prologue is a bit awkward, it aided the two people on my group of five that had never read the books, and enabled them to follow--and to want the sequal as immediately and as urgently as I do. The orcs are ugly. The uruk-hai are scary. The hobbits are three feet tall, and the emotions are stunning and genuine. As a film solely by itself, yes, it is incomplete. But nothing exists in a vacuum, and so knowing that there are six hours of movie left to go, I consider it a fine film, and proably the best literary adaptation I've ever seen.
Rating:
Summary: A spectacular film achievement
Review: About an hour into "The Fellowship of the Ring," an extremely unexpected thought popped into my mind: "This is a lot better than 'The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly' " -- that Sergio Leone classic being one of my guilty favorites. This movie works. The answer to the long-standing question "How could you possibly turn this into a film" is now here, and it is: "Just like this!" Book magic turns into movie magic, just as successfully as "Gone With The Wind." The whole crew threw their hearts into this movie, with wonderful results: a heart-pounding, thrilling adventure that will astonish you at every turn, and yet, at the end, you will say to yourself, "That WAS the book!" This is definitely one of the best films I have ever seen in my life. It is very, very good. Acting, visual effects, directing, everything. Hats off to Peter Jackson and the other 2,400 who made this happen!
Rating:
Summary: Better than "Star Wars"
Review: That's right. "Fellowship of the Ring" is better than "Star Wars." For a Gen X guy -- who saw the original "Star Wars" 12 times in theaters and probably 50+ times total -- there is no higher praise. Peter Jackson and company had a daunting challenge: To take a somewhat dense, somewhat long story where as much is told as is shown, where the prequel material is simply not available to make it easier to understand for an audience unfamiliar with the story, to use state of the art special effects to tell a movie that works on its own, yet stands up as a solid adaptation of the novel, and one that's a hit with audiences who've seen countless epics on the screen. Jackson knocked this one out of the park. The adaptation trims where needed, adds new supplemental material where required (which nonetheless fits in seamlessly), provides us with terrifying villains, symapthetic protagonists, dazzling eye candy, and a human (or hobbit) dimension that will alternately have you clinging to your seat in terror or weeping at the nobility and self-sacrifice of the heroes. Awe-inspiring, yet touching, with some of the best performances we'll ever see out of this cast (if Liv Tyler retires after this, it'll be because she's going out on a high note that no one could have expected from her), true to the books yet totally accessible. Oh, and as I think I might have mentioned, it's even better than "Star Wars."
Rating: 
Summary: Eye Candy.
Review: I had the pleasure of seeing " The Lord of the Rings" today, and it was absolutely marvelous! Everything absolutely resembled everything from the books, scenery, costumes and all. Also, the way nearly every detail was exactly as I, or anyone else, could imagine. One thing, it was awfully long for anyone under the age of 14-15, unless they are a huge fan!
Rating:
Summary: Eye Candy.
Review: I had the pleasure of seeing " The Lord of the Rings" today, and it was absolutely marvelous! Everything absolutely resembled everything from the books, scenery, costumes and all. Also, the way nearly every detail was exactly as I, or anyone else, could imagine. One thing, it was awfully long for anyone under the age of 14-15, unless they are a huge fan!
Rating:
Summary: This is what we have all been waiting for!!
Review: I have been a fan of "Lord of The Rings" since the early 70's. In all that time I have been waiting for some one to make a decent movie out of the book. We won't discuss the fiascos that were done way back then. Well, they finally did it! They did an awesome job. If you are an LOTR fan you will greatly enjoy this movie. For those of us that are purest, there may be a slip here and there, but all in all it was a very well done film. My wife who has not read the series (I know, but what can I do? I love her.) did not care for all the violence. If you consider the books, it kind of has to be there. In any event, fan or not, if you like fantasy you should see this film. If you haven't read the books, order them now! Then go see the movie. It is very very well done.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic film
Review: I have all ways enjoyed the books and this movie does justice to them all it whets your appetite for more. The effects and make up do not detract from the story. I'm glad that this wasn't done by Geeorge Lucas. Peter Jackson has made a fantastic movie. This is now at the top of my list of greatest movies. The characters are great, the acting superb and it enthrals you from the begining; showing the power of the ring. Read the books definitely and then see the movie.
Rating: 
Summary: The Ruling Film Slips from Jackson's Hand
Review: Some people have associated me with JRR Tolkien's books for more than 25 years. I first saw this movie on opening day at a local theatre 12/19/01. I was extremely excited about this movie and the whole series of films - since "The Lord of the Rings" is my favorite book, I was hoping for nothing less than that the 3 movies would combine for my ultimate movie experience! I wrote a highly positive review that same day giving the movie 5 stars. I saw the movie 5 more times in the theatre and was even more excited about anything Tolkien or "The Lord of the Rings", so I decided to re-read the book. That was when my movie dreams came crashing down. The visuals (costumes, scenery, special effects) and acting in the movie are nearly flawless, so what was wrong? The BASIC story line IS the same as in the book, but I noticed far too many differences in the little details of the story line between the book and the movie. Since then, this, my biggest personal disappointment in a movie, has been festering like a disease and has now spilt over to become a broader disappointment in the entire movie industry's way of taking liberties with beloved books, or even history. The thing that really gets me is that there is so much material to work from in the first volume of the book, and condense it into a nearly 3-hour movie, but instead Jackson's screenplay changes some things and ADDS material! I noticed some differences when I first saw the movie, but since I don't have the book memorized, I assumed most of the little details and lines were from the book. Some lines in the movie are not in the book, some lines are said by different characters, or some lines are said at a different time & location. Aragorn's personality and reason for not claiming the throne of Gondor earlier are very different between the book and movie. Let's face it, most people will see a movie a lot more often than read the book. So people will remember the movie more, and that's a BIG mistake here because people should remember TOLKIEN'S story...and that's the book! I need some way of showing the tremendous let down I feel because Jackson let a golden, and maybe the best, opportunity for my ultimate movie slip by. That's now why I only give it 2 starts, and why I refuse to see the remainder of this series at least in theatres, and if I ever do see them, I then must re-read the corresponding volume in the book. I read that Jackson changed things to fit a different media - implying that a book must necessarily be different than a movie - something authors should now think about before selling movie rights. In my opinion, Ralph Bakshi failed to bring the book effectively to the screen in 1978 (because he never did the second, and concluding, part, and because his animation lacked a stunning visual impact), and Peter Jackson fails now only, but disastrously, because of a poorly written screenplay. Will anybody do it completely right? I hope there's a "NEXT!"
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