Rating: 
Summary: Simply Wonderful
Review: I entered the theater to see "Fellowship of the Ring" with mixed emotions. On one hand, I was very afraid that one of the most beloved tales of my childhood was about to be turned into tasteles, vulgar, Hollywood pap (a feeling that was reinforced by the relentless marketing). On the other hand, I was excited that many of my most blissful moments of day-dreaming in school (to the eternal detriment of my grades) were about to become big screen realities.It brings me great pleasure, utter joy and some surprise to report that my first feeling was completely unfounded. Put simply, "Fellowship of the Rings" is simply wonderful. I sat for three hours, mezmorized by what was happening on the screen, many times thinking, "this was exactly how I imagined it", or, "that is better than how I imagined it (particularly with regards to the orcs)", or, "they could not have gotten anyone better to play that role". I want to express my gratitude towards director Peter Jackson for taking an immensely difficult story and rendering it with such love and care. It is quite obvious that, unlike so many directors of movies inspired by books, he absolutely loves the material and wishes to remain faithful to the intentions of the author. At the same time, however, he displayed the wisdom to recognize that not all of Tolkien's prose, nor plot devices, would translate well to film, and the courage to alter his own work accordingly. Jackson's courageous decision to take some liberties, adding here or cutting there, with Tolkien's masterwork was critical in making the "Fellowship of the Ring" soar. For example, as much as I love "The Fellowship of the Ring", I was very happy to see that Jackson completely dispensed with all the pages devoted to Frodo and the hobbits' stay with Tom Bombadil. As a young child, my first attempt to read "The Lord of the Rings" foundered mightily in Tom's house. Had Jackson decided to linger at Bombdadil's house himself, I suspect that the film may have foundered a bit as well, as Bombadil contributes very little to the overall plot. Inevitably, some of Jacksons' decisions on what to add or cut will not sit well with some of Tolkien's more ardent fans. They will inevitably generate some hate mail. But the lack of this artistic courage is something much more frightening to contemplate. The unwillingess to cross an author for the sake of one's film is what, in my view, rendered "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" sterile and humorless. I could go on for hours about how great this film is, but I recommend that you see it for yourself. I think the vast majority of people, whether Tolkien afficionados or not, will recognize its greatness, and will come to think of it as a classic and a true film achievement.
Rating:
Summary: A Masterful Sensation
Review: I experienced all the pain, pleasure,exhilaration, devastation the Ring portrayed. I left the theatre encouraged and fulfilled, looking forward to the next production. A skillfully presented masterpiece not to be forgotten. Elijah Wood, in his usual fine form, presented a soulful Frodo and Ian McKellan, a superb Gandolph. The supporting cast was also to be commended on their excellent performances. I would rate this movie five star and will recommend it to all my friends...
Rating: 
Summary: What? this movie still on?
Review: I feel asleep three times during the duration of my viewing of "Lord of the Rings", which I thought I'd never even watch at all. As a non fan of this genre, I don't know what came over me to rent this.
See my review of Harry Potter, I talk about how I am not a fan of the genre, but I really enjoyed the movie. Well, things didn't work the same in this situation. The movie has an amazing performance by Ian McKellen, who is a consumate professional actor. He takes the craft seriously, and he is a truly amazing talent and I love to watch him.
I actually did like this movie to some extent, but it just kept going on and on and on and on and on.... It just didn't do anything for me, the first hour was good, It had me interested in wanting to know more of the story, but it just dragged way too much. I was stunned by the visuals, they are just breath taking. It is a beautifully filmed zonker. Sorry, but this is my honest opinion, and we are all entitled.
I have never read any of the books, and I never plan to as I just can't get into this genre of book or movie. This is way too long! It's over three hours. Drink some coffee and don't watch this too late. Eileen Famiglietti
Rating: 
Summary: ZZZ ZZZ ZZZ
Review: I feel like I should love this movie due to all the praise, but I just don't. What's wrong with me?
Rating:
Summary: The Lord of my Sleep
Review: I fell asleep halfway through this movie. I don't see how this film is any different than every other look-at-me-I'm-a-hero movies. There simply isn't any depth. The film is almost completely missing Tolken's environmental kick, and the ring turns out to be the best character. I did like that notion of the film and was quite afraid of the ring. But when I had to listen to the inane dialogue, the fumblings of Elijah Wood and Sean Astin, the most unchallening role of McKellen's career--I simply couldn't forgive the film. My dreams of Middle Earth are so much more satisfying...I think I'll go there now.
Rating: 
Summary: A good rendition for a 3 hr. timeslot
Review: I felt that this movie was a very good representation of the book and I enjoyed the cinematography VERY much. It was middle earth brought to life! Although, I must agree with some others that the movie was lacking something. Not being a fanatic and wanting basically the whole story to be conveyed in the movie (In which case The Fellowship movie alone would probably have a play time of 10 hours), I do feel that some certain scenes should not have been excised from the movie. All in all, adding these scenes would have only made the move 5 minutes longer, AND A LOT BETTER. Still, I feel that it is a very well done adaption of the book, and the plot of the movie cannot truely be judged until the other two parts of the trilogy come out. PS. I rather liked the ending to the Fellowship of the Ring. Despite what others may say, it gives a sense that not everything turns out like what we hoped for. Not all books, or movies have to end,"...and they lived happily ever after."
Rating:
Summary: Lord of the Rings
Review: I felt this was a wonerful fantasy movie for adults. I have seen the movie 3x and would recommend it. The cast is perfect for each role,and gave excellent performances. For me the time flew by much too quickly. The location and scenery was breath taking and the effects were wonderful. Let us not forget the sound track which added so much to this film, (which I have also purchased and listen to regularly.) I hope that others can look at this film as the entertaining piece that it is and feel the enjoyment that I have found in watching it.
Rating:
Summary: A classic in the making!
Review: I figured this movie would be fun, well-done, and a great companion to the book. I hoped it would be able to stand alone; I hoped it wouldn't require the book to be enjoyable; I hoped above all that PJ would stay true to the feel of the books, and not succomb Hollywood (shades of Harry Potter). It blew me away. It was EASILY the best fantasy/sci fi movie I have ever seen. It was probably the best movie (that's such a hard thing for me to decide, though...whenever I say "My all-time favourite movie is..." I end up with three or four!). Let me just say first: Ian McKellen is God. (Viggo and Orlando are minor deities--despite being a long-time member of the Aragorn Fan Club, I have to say that Legolas is giving him a run for his money!) The reviewer who said, "Ian McKellen doesn't appear in this movie. Gandalf does" got it dead on. If he doesn't get an Oscar, I'll never watch the Oscars again. To me, there were two things that made this a great movie as opposed to a good one. First, I don't remember the last time I was so into a movie that I shrieked in fright. But I did at one particulary frightening point in this movie (and I wasn't the only one!). Second, and more important, there were SEVERAL times (and for extended periods) when I was completely, totally immersed in the MOVIE. I was not watching the book translated onto the screen; I was watching the MOVIE. I don't think I can give Peter Jackson and company much higher praise than that. Now, I don't think the movie was perfect. It took me a few minutes to get used to the hobbit-size thing, right at the beginning. I don't think it was badly done, though: I think it was just hard to get used to seeing miniature people! I wanted to smack Liv Tyler. She's a decent enough actress, but I thought she really paled in comparison with the other acting. Also, I have to admit, I said a year and a half ago that I was afraid I would see her riding in the movie, and only be able to think, "She's riding a barrel," and I was right. Now, I'm sure I've seen plenty of other movies where the character wasn't really riding, and liked 'em, but I just couldn't do it here. Most of the CGI was great, but there were a few exceptions. The thing about CGI is that it is SO EASY to point out when it's bad...but most good CGI you never notice because you don't KNOW it's CGI! How much of the lighting in that movie was CGI? How many of the mountains? How many miniscule details? We'll never know--and THAT'S the good part. Now, obviously, I knew that Moria was computer generated. But it certainly looked like they had carved it out of a cave in New Zealand somewhere. (The fire in Moria was the BEST CGI fire I've ever seen--in fact, I think that maybe they DID set a cave on fire! :D) I think I'm going to go to NZ and look for the Pillars of the Argonath, as I'm fairly sure that they really did carve those out of a mountain beside a river somewhere. Everything else...was AWESOME. I was dreading some of the compaction, but I thought it turned out fine. Peter Jackson captured one last thing in this movie that is too often lacking in today's movies: FEELING. I was happy, I was sad, I was angry, I was scared. The score was a bonus here. Shore captured the feelings of the moments PERFECTLY (he'd better get an Oscar, too). The music was old and new at the same time--amazing, and just what was needed. He didn't SHOVE emotion at the viewers/listeners, he merely echoed and enhanced it. The Black Riders...whoa. Talk about the stuff nightmares are made of. Their screams were GREAT. Their screams were AWFUL. I wanted to run out of the theatre and hide and never hear that again. They terrified me, even though I knew what was going to happen. Saruman's orcs running through the woods...I considered crawling under my chair (movies do not usually do that to me!--at least not for prolonged periods of time). I desperately wanted things to go completely differently than the book, just so the orcs would go away! THAT is what makes this a great movie. It's NOT the book, but it has the SPIRIT of the book and it ENGAGED me--even though I can recite the book from memory. It truly did exceed my expectations. Am I saying that the movie is better than the book? Of COURSE not. To me, though, it is absolutely, 100% AS GOOD AS the book. It is different, to be sure, but that does not make it a bad movie. It's written for fans and newcomers, and both can enjoy it and relish their 3 hour trip to Middle Earth. Bottom line: It's not perfect (what is?), but I LOVE THIS MOVIE!!!!!!!!!
Rating:
Summary: Ian McKellen gives us the performance of a lifetime!!
Review: I finally saw "The Lord of the Rings" in the theater not too long ago, and I thought that it was not just a good movie. Oh, no! It was a GREAT movie! This first chapter in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, "The Fellowship of the Ring", followed the book excellently, with plenty of action and astounding special effects! As for the acting, I have to give a lot of credit to Ian McKellen portraying the wizard Gandalf. One of the absolute best McKellen performances that I have seen since "X-Men"! The other actors, including Elijah Wood (Frodo), Liv Tyler (Arwen), Viggo Mortensen (Stryder), Sean Astin (Sam), and Ian Holm (Bilbo) gave great performances alongside Ian McKellen. "The Fellowship of the Ring" takes place after the story of Bilbo Baggins in "The Hobbit". This time, it concerns Frodo Baggins (Wood), a hobbit that unexpectedly gets a mysterious ring that overpowers all others, etc. But this ring is no ordinary ring...this ring can control everything in the world! Frodo's longtime friend and mentor Gandalf (McKellen) knows all about this ring and tells Frodo that it must be destroyed from where it was made from. And during the film, Frodo volunteers to destroy the ring, and a fellowship of nine, including Gandalf and a ranger named Stryder (Mortensen) is formed in order to destroy the cursed ring. In conclusion, this first chapter has it all! Great storytelling and a top-notch cast led by Ian McKellen and Elijah Wood! I cannot wait for "The Two Towers" (due in Christmas, 2002) and "The Return of the King" (due in Christmas, 2003)! This is definitely a DVD must-have for any "Lord of the Rings" fan!
Rating:
Summary: can't wait to see more
Review: I finally saw this movie when it came out to the local theatre. I've been a fan of the hobbit and lord of the rings since I was itty bitty when I first watched the animated movies. Now, being that I was more familar with the hobbit and the return of the king, I looked to this movie with interest as I had never known about the first two parts of the story. Even though I knew that certain characters would survive and what would happen to them, I was very worried about Frodo and his fellow men as they began their journey. The effects of this movie are amazing. I would have rather sat through an nine hour movie rather than ending abruptly but even I was getting restless. The movie doesn't include every aspect of the book but then it really would be too long. I must say, Peter Jackson has done a marvelous job and I can't wait to see the following two movies.
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