Rating: 
Summary: Excellent
Review: I finally saw this movie, a week after the second installment was released. I haven't read the books, so I was a bit reluctant to see the film without doing so first. I have to say I was stunned; I couldn't believe the epic scale of the film. The special effects and action sequences are amazing. However, many of the characters are very well-developed, particularly that of Frodo Baggins, played by Elijah Wood. Frodo's inner turmoil and the burden the title of ring-bearer places on him becomes more and more apparent as the film progresses. I personally became very attatched to the character of Frodo...I'm almost scared to see what becomes of him at the end of the final installment! But overall, highly reccomended!
Rating:
Summary: A big hit with only a few misses
Review: I finally watched my new extended version DVD yesterday. Having seen the theatrical version over, and over, and over, I couldn't wait to see the added and extended scenes. For the most part, they were good and added to the film. But there were a few that either didn't add to the story, interrupted the flow, or made no sense unless you read the book. As for fitting in with the rest of the film, most of the scenes blended seamlessly the film. They felt as if they could or should have been in the original theatrical release (wow!). However, there were a couple that had that we-filmed-this-scene-after-the-movie-was-over-and-stuck-it-in-at-the-last-minute feel. I would say about 85% of the new and extended scenes were good and about 15% were not. But that's just quantity. Quality-wise, the new scenes that were great more than make up for the few scenes that were not.As many of you know, Howard Shore, who scored the film, came back and wrote new music for the added scenes in the film. Like the added scenes, the new music was also hit-and-miss. Some of it just didn't seem consistent with the original. I would say of the new music 60% fit in with the original and 40% was out of place. The only other thing that bugged me about the movie was that it is on two separate DVDs, so you have to switch out in the middle. Good news for those who would like an intermission, but bad news for me. To sum it all up, a great movie enhanced by great additions. The gift giving scene alone is enough to make me buy the extended version. Add in two complete disks of extras and you can't ask for much more. Overall rating: Definite buy!
Rating:
Summary: The best movie ever made!
Review: I finally watched this movie and it was well worth the loooong wait. It's so frustrating to know that the remaining 2 films are done, but we can't watch all of it now. My expectations were very high for this film, but it blew away every expectation I had. The movie brought to life the complex characters from the book. All the actors seem to fit their roles so perfectly it's hard to imagine that they are just acting. The detail in this movie is breathtaking. The only disappointment was that Tom Bombadiel wasn't in this movie, I really wanted to see what he would have looked like. I'll just use my imagination. The minor changes that were made worked very well and I didn't think it affected the story at all. I greatly enjoyed Arwen's expanded role in the film and hope she will be in expanded roles in the other 2 as well. I reread Fellowship of the Ring after watching the movie and realized that I had missed minor details in the book that the movie helped me see. I recommend watching the movie and reading the book. This is one of the few movies that is just as good as the book. For how complex the book is, I was impressed with detail was included in a movie that is 2:45. It definitely could have been longer and I don't think anyone would have complained. When the movie ended, I didn't even realize how much time had passed. I will definitely be watching this again and will be awaiting the DVD version.
Rating:
Summary: Great Movie!
Review: I finished reading the first book hours before I saw the movie, and I was amazed at how close the actually stuck to the story in the book. The movie does go a little into the second book, so make sure you have read the first couple of chapters of The Two Towers!!! The acting and the scenery were amazing...the best I have seen in a long time!! This is a must see for everyone!!
Rating: 
Summary: The First of Our Generation's Greatest Epic
Review: I first approached this film back in 2001 with much curiousity, excitment, and ignorance. I had never heard of Tolkein, nor had I read the books on which it was based. I knew "The Hobbit" from the old animated film and knew what a hobbit was, for the most part. All I knew about "Lord of the Rings" was that it involved, of course, hobbits, wizards, magic and sorcery, and all other sorts of mystical creatures and ideas. I knew the film was the one to see in 2001, that it was a massive undertaking and also a film of some magnitude--EPIC magnitude is more like it. With the release of "The Fellowship of the Rings," I found it hard to latch onto the excitment that seemed to drive alot of my friends wild (they already being Tolkein-accquainted). So I saw it, and was dazzled by the opening prologue. The subsequent scenes surrounding the noble little hobbits and visiting Gandalf left me cold, though. It all seemed much too sweet except for some moments of darkness. I was getting bored and could feel the seconds passing. What I had was the unfortunate disadvantage of being unfamiliar with the books, so I wasn't able to get excited seeing the pages of the book come to life (as I had been during the "Harry Potter" movies) even during the slower moments. Things started to get more interesting as "the nine" came to the shire to hunt Frodo, and the young hobbits run into "Strider" (aka Aragorn) who takes them to Rivendale, the dwelling of the elfs. From here on as the fellowship comes together, and they descend into the dwarf mines, the action peeks and doesn't let up until the final, heroic and stirring climax. It must certinaly take a while for unfamiliars like myslef to really engage themselves into the story of "Lord of the Rings." There are alot of names, faces, and places to keep in check so you can recall them later. But even when I was turning in my seat I knew I was watch something important, something that I and anyone else who saw it would remember when other films are forgotten. It just seemed very naturally venerable. I couldn't really appreciate it, though, until about 2 minutes into "The Two Towers," the 2002 second installment of the "Rings" trilogy. Only then did I really start to regognize the intimacy and supreme attention to detail that went into these films. Theye are magnificent achievements of spectacle, but also of storytelling and drama. By watching "Two Towers" I really started to get involved into the plight of the characters, so I was able to revisit "Fellowship" with more appreciation. Up until beginning work on "Rings," director Peter Jackson had only done a few, smaller-scale horror films, so you really have to admire him for taking on such a massive project that demanded such skill and also appreciation from its makers. Jackson and his team have that skill and also that appreciation, and what he has done with the movies is incredible. He deserves much more credit than anyone can give him. Looking at "Fellowship of the Ring" now, I would still say it's the least of the three individual films. It's a bit episodic and seems lengthy in its introduction of characters and story elements (and I still think the early scenes in the shire are just a little too sweet and fanciful for my tastes). Those minor quibblings aside, though, it's much better to observe all three movies as a whole. Only then do you realize what an essential place they have in film history, and that perhaps "Lord of the Rings" is indeed the greatest fantasy epic ever made. I think every generation deserves an epic--an adventure that filmgoers will identify with long down the road. Like it or not, for this generation, "Lord of the Rings" is that epic.
Rating:
Summary: I didn't think they'd ever do a good movie of this
Review: I first read 'Lord Of the Rings' as an undergrad during the Turbulent Sixties, when it gained a cult following among several of us who considered the world to be Armageddon-bound by next semester, what with my country's and the Soviet Union's reckless nuclear buildup, as well as both nations' interventionist adventures in the Third World. There was saying back then, frequently appearing as graffiti: 'Frodo Lives'. As potential cannon fodder in Vietnam, we weren't at all sure we would be doing so for very long. In retrospect, using this story as an escapist allegory to a less-desirable 'real world' beat hell out of following the example of the late Jim Morrison; 'I don't know what's gonna happen, man, but I aim to get my kicks before the whole thing goes up in flames.' That philosophy knocked him off at age 27. Wishing that they could put this story on the screen, I was vastly let down by the animated feature of it during the 1970s, which modern-day Disney fare blows away in terms of imaginativeness. I don't know if you can even get that one on VHS and frankly I could care less. This film is a sprawling, mighty epic meant for big-screen TV tied into your stereo so that the rumbling subsonics in the soundtrack can give you the proper sense of vastness. It's very well cast as well. Viggo Morgensten as the laconic Eastwoodian drifter Aragorn. The booming, Falstaffian John Rhys-Davies as Gimli the Dwarf. Sean Bean as the emotional Boromir, a man too wrapped up in his own nationalism to see the big picture. I go along with one other reviewer who sees Cate Blanchett as a far too austere Galadriel, though. In the book, I saw Galadriel as more serene than icy. I think one side-effect of a really great role in a really great flick is that it absorbs the actor playing it. So I wasn't at all surprised to learn that the guys who played Frodo and Sam became very close friends in the course of the filming. And what a great idea to do the whole trilogy at once! That dodges two fatal pitfalls in a project this big, one being cast attrition'in the 'Winds Of War/ War and Remembrance' miniseries, two deaths and a case of actor's boredom made it necessary to replace starring characters Natalie and Aaron Jastrow, as well as Byron Henry. And speaking of boredom, what better way to get around the attention deficit disorder found in much of the moviegoing audience? Now I don't have to worry that they might decide to scrap plans for at least one of the other two. People who are easily bored can whine and yawn all they want'my copies of the other two films are probably already packaged and shrink-wrapped in some warehouse!
Rating:
Summary: Tolkien's Epic Comes To Life
Review: I first read Lord Of The Rings way back in the early 60's when it was still hard to find and basically a cult book on college campus's. I have probably read it at least once a year since then and there is only one other book that I can say that about - Frank Herbert's Dune. So after 30+ readings I was totally prepared to dislike the movie. Imagine my surprise when I discovered the best movie I've seen in years. Granted, some changes were inevitable. For instance there are few female characters in the novel so Galadriel and Arwen in particular had to be fleshed out for the movie. No big deal, it still follows the story line remarkably well. The acting is superb, the special effects incredible and the sets and scenary simply beautiful. Definately an asset for any DVD collection and a must have for fantasy lovers.
Rating:
Summary: The Story - From Imagination to on-screen Visualization
Review: I first read LOTR in 1969. Since then, I've re-read it at least a score of times more. I had to imagine the characters and the world of the hobbit. Frodo Baggins was a little guy with hairy feet and the weight of the world on his shoulders. WOW!!! Now I see Frodo on the big screen and Elijah Wood IS Frodo Baggins. Gandalf is just the way I pictured him, sometimes jovial and friendly, sometimes severe and stern. Suroman is as devious as expected and his slick and oily tongue fit the character perfectly. I can't wait for the Two Towers to hit the screen, and Return of the King in 2003.
Rating:
Summary: A Literary Masterpiece in Visual Splendor
Review: I first read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy when I was about 10 years old. Since then I have been a devoted disciple of not only J.R.R. Tolkien, but of literature in general. Tolkien, who was a professor of Literature at Oxford University, incorporated features from such epic poems as Beowulf into The Hobbit and his Ring Trilogy, creating a link to other literary works which has always fascinated me and led me to explore other literature.
I must admit that when I first heard that Peter Jackson would be bringing the Ring to the big screen I immediately felt indignant, almost angry that someone would tamper with Tolkien's Masterpiece. After all, how often has the film industry completely rewritten pieces of literature or altered history to make a movie more palatable?
I am pleased to say that my misgivings were completely inaccurate. Mr. Jackson gave himself to reproducing Tolkien's vision of Middle Earth with an awesome exactness. The locales are fantastic, cinematography stunning, and casting wonderful, not to mention a delightful musical score. Tolkien's classic good versus evil storyline was adhered to almost to the letter. This movie will be as great a classic as the books are. It is a fantastic achievement for Mr. Jackson and the cast and crew, and undoubtedly will be a catalyst to introduce many children to the joys of reading.
Rating:
Summary: Its About Time!
Review: I first read the Lord of The Rings trilogy while in college in 1982. Even during the first reading I realized this was an epoch worthy of a major motion picture! After viewing the animated "Hobbit" film and the first animated installment of the trilogy, I was left wanting more.
To date, I have read the trilogy at least twelve times and was excited to finally hear about the making and release of this literary masterpiece.
Having seen the film three times (once alone then twice with my two sons) I realized that to match Tolkien's vision of Middle Earth we had to wait for today's cinematic technology to bring this masterpiece to life; and this was done very well in this film. From the opening in the beautiful Shire to the escape from Moria you are held fast in your seat. The effects, cinematography, actors, scenery and action all came together to make me admit this was worth the wait. It will you, too. Frodo lives!
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