Rating: 
Summary: Not bad, not good
Review: Well, I can see why some people say "get this" with a hundred exclamation signs and some say "what the ???" :) Some people like some things, others don't :) So, don't bit?? about the hype and stuff - if you don't like the style, don't watch it. As for the good side - I liked the movie, it wasn't bad, although some effects could use more "effects", if you know what I mean :)) Say, the voice of elves could use more of that bell-ringing sound that is associated with them, then, if all of'em where so heroes, how come the scenes did not depict it fully? :) And the most upsetting thing for me was the ending - I was watching it, I got into it, I was watching the world the producer created, and then, suddenly, it just all went off :(( ??? what tha? IMHO there was no conclusion at all ... Or, at least, they could've made some sort of a conclusion, like, defeating and holding out the enemy.. It just ends up in the middle of a story.. Otherwise, it's great, as you watch it - it gets you and makes you watch more. The effects are good, with exception of some, and the music matches. They could've gotten a better Frodo, though. :)
Rating:
Summary: very good, but it could be better
Review: Well, i have to disagree with people on both ends of the spectrum here. The movie was definitely very good, one of the best ive ever seen, but i just dont think it includes quite enough of the book. All you who whine and say, "What does everyone think is wrong with the movie?" obviously havent read the books, to know why the books are so much better. But then, those of you who say, "This is crap, its terrible because its not like the books," are also being foolish. It is definitely aa very good movie, and does retain a lot more of the plot than some movie versions of books i have read. It also, however, doesnt give quite enough of the story; Peter Jackson filled it with loads of action, and if he cut down on that time just a little, he could improve the quality a lot. Really the main thing i didnt like about it was, like with many fans of the books, that there was no Tom Bombadil. Still, is is a great movie that everyone should watch, although you should definitely read the book first.
Rating:
Summary: it's a great movie.
Review: Well, I just saw the movie with my friends. Despite a few short comings (repeated swooping overhead camera views and the silly look-i-am-so-cool-because-i-have-blue-eyes scenes pop up in my mind at the moment), I believe that the movie captures the spirit of the book quite well. My friends who don't even like the fantasy genre got sucked into the movie, and they all expressed their desire to read the books! To me, this is the best fantasy movie ever made.
Rating: 
Summary: Exceeded Expectations!!!!
Review: Well, I must say that this is by far the best movie of 2001...even more so than harry potter...this movie is great for anyone who has read the books and for those who want a pretty good action movie...I'd have to say this is one of the best movies I've ever watched, and I have seen it twice (which is extremely rare for theatrical releases)...if you want violence, its here...want story, its here...want fantasy, its here...want consistency with original book, its pretty consistent so far...elijah wood plays a hobbit named Frodo who is unfortunately given the duties to destroy an evil ring, which can corrupt the bearer and bring life back to the evil demon that once beared it, who will bring evil upon the entire world...However, Frodo has a sort of resistence to the evil corruption of the ring and sometimes manages to use the ring to his advantage...nevertheless, he must destroy it back at where it was created in some evil volcanic hill which is surrounded by evil orks and other devilous beings...On his journey to the mountains, he must avoid and fight off the 9 black knights that serve the ring and the evil demon that once beared it...Frodo is accompanied by many warriors for protection, one of which is an awesome archer...when you go see this film, keep an eye on the archer(the one with the bow and arrows), he's the most noblest and coolest guy in the picture...the movie, partly titled The Fellowship of the Ring, runs 3 hours long and will leave you hanging at the end wanting to watch more...for those that dont know, this is going to be a trilogy somewhat like star wars, and this is only the first part...I'm very eager to see the last two...this movie isn't exactly for the children considering the bloodshed, but it really is pretty great...hopefully my opinion as well as others will persuade you to go see this great deal of work...happy viewing!!!
Rating:
Summary: ALMOST the best movie ever
Review: well, i think it could quite possibly be the best movie i have ever seen. i have read hundreds of books and when i see the screen adaptation i am never satisfied...until now. the lord of the rings was an amazing adaptation. jackson and his crew and staff and actors did a superb job of bringing middle earth to life. viggo mortenson was the best choice for Aragorn! Gandalf was amazing (ian McKellan), and Elijah Wood is back baby! He is a great Frodo! As Gandalf says, "a most unlikely person."
Rating: 
Summary: Only just a 3 too...
Review: Well, I thought this was very disappointing.
My wife and I found it so slow going that we ended up watching it in two sittings and even then she fell asleep in the second half.
Amazingly, she found she had missed nothing when she awoke 20 minutes later!
The effects and scenery were very nice, but a film needs so much more than that for me.
To sum this film up I would say it was just very very slow.
Rating:
Summary: A true masterpiece
Review: Well, I was blown away completely by Peter Jackson's interpretation of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. Everything was so perfect and exactly as I've pictured it for years. As a true Tolkien addict/scholor/devotee, it would take a lot to make me happy. And let me tell you, I'm ecstatic. Middle-Earth was brought to startling life and clarity in this first installment of the epic that is Lord of the Rings. I was dissapointed about the exclusion of several characters. However, I understand the necessity of this. The acting was superbly done; Elijah Wood donned Frodo's personality perfectly. The costumes were incredible. You know that the costume is done well when you see Sam and you don't think : "Oh, well, that's a hobbit costume". But instead, you don't even realize its a costume. It's just a thread that is woven into the tapestry of Middle-Earth. It's all real. You forget that you're sitting in a theater and partake in the quest of the Fellowhip. I've never cared so deeply about characters then in this intricate and wonderful story.
I always hate it when people think that Galadriel is some sort of witch or sorceress. Whenever I hear that, I want to pound my ax and yell: "Speak no evil of the Lady Galadriel!"
But that's how Gimli described her when walking through Lothlórien, but, you have to remember, dwarves don't like elves. They haven't for thousands of years. That was Gimli's presuppositions coming through! Tolkien was adament that elves did not use "magic" as we would characterize it. Forgive me for ranting.
Anyway. . . I'm looking forward to getting the extended edition in the mail from Amazon.com! And looking forward to the Two Towers!
Rating:
Summary: The fellowship of the Rng movie review
Review: Well, I was browsing, and I came upon the review left by the " Critic" that claimed that the Fellowship of the Ring was ripped off from the Willow. HELLO? The Fellowship of the Ring was freaking written before George Lucas and Ron Howard were beginning to pick up a camera! It was written way before the Willow was created. So, Mr. Critic, please abstain from flaming things when you obviously have no real idea what they are about. The Fellowship is an amazing book, and makes for a lovely movie. J.R.R. Tolkein's world is richly painted with Peter Jackson's deft direction of this movie, it really captures the emotion of the book, if not, perfect canonical rendering. The cast is great- Viggo Mortensen especially, he created a Aragorn that I think no one could have possibly played again. The first movie is but a taster...the rest just get better, and better. The story is timeless, and the film is as well...bringing back a little spark of the ideals which can be so easily lost in the chaotic world we live in today. The length intimidates people- but it is completely worth it. And anyways, you have to see the first movie to get to the second, and the second to the third [which I think is best], don't you? Better get watching...believe me, you'll find yourself hooked into the characters, and the storyline before you know it...
Rating:
Summary: Extended DVD awesome, gift set not-so-awesome
Review: Well, I will of course say that this movie is so far my favorite movie of all time (and is probably the beginning part of my favorite movie trilogy of all time about my favorite book of all time!) Everyone else who's written a review here says much the same thing though, so 'nuff said.My review is on the special DVD extended edition GIFT SET in particular. The set includes the extended edition 4-disc DVD (the same as the one sold separately as the extended edition) along with a DVD of National Geographic's Beyond the Movie "Lord of the Rings". The set also has a pair of Argonath bookends, a supposedly Hobbit-sized version of the fan club's magazine, and a pack of three of Decipher's trading cards (looks like all the sets have the same three--Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli). This special gift set is not cheap, retailng at about $80 (yikes!). I got it the day it came out .... The Extended Edition DVD by itself though was going...so I guess all I paid was [a cupple of dollars]for the extra stuff. The NatGeo DVD is pretty interesting, incorporates a lot of info about Tolkien (all of it already known by any fans of JRR that have been around awhile). It's kind of one of those things you watch once and enjoy and then never watch it again. The Argonath bookends look really cool and detailed, but they're kind of, well, small. And not too heavy weighted either--they are probably only good for holding together your hardback copies of Tolkien's masterpiece. Personally, I like them better just being used as decorative pieces on the shelf. Also, this is odd and will probably go away over time, but the darn things SMELL (!). I guess it's the resin or whatever they make them out of. The other "special" stuff included isn't that special really--just a thin little magazine designed to look like the big LOTR fan club magazine (with all kinds of high praise for people who join said club of course) and a thin pack of three Decipher cards for their game. The special gift set does NOT come with a free movie ticket for the Two Towers--if you want the free ticket, you have to buy the separate Extended DVD, not the gift set. Really, all in all, unless you can get this gift set at a fairly reasonable price like I did, I wouldn't put the additional money down for the gift set--just get the extended DVD on its own. The only really neat extra item you get is the so-called bookends. And while they're cool, I don't think they're [expensive] cool.
Rating:
Summary: THE BEST PICTURE OF THE YEAR! BEST DIRECTION, TOO!!!
Review: Well, it may not have gotten the Academy Awards for the Best Picture and Best Director of 2001, but it most certainly should have. Frankly, I think that this wonderful film, "The Lord of the Rings-The Fellowship of the Ring" being produced in New Zealand by a wonderful director, Peter Jackson, from the UK (I believe to be the case) did not help it with Oscar voters. Perhaps the votes were close, but I still was amazed that this magnificent film walked away with only a handful of Oscars and not the major awards. I am hopeful that "The Two Towers" will bring a long over-due Academy Award nomination to Christopher Lee as Best Supporting Actor for his role as the wizard, Saruman, which is larger in "The Two Towers". After more than fifty years in film Christopher Lee is now 80 and it would be richly deserved. I am not forgetting Ian McKellum either, hopefully he will win for "The Return of the King"!
The producers and screenwriters had the difficult task of translating this massive book published almost 50 years ago, and most of it written even earlier, to the screen and the results do not dissapoint. I agree with other viewers that even small deviations from the story can be annoying. I was not put off so much by the fact that Arwens character stood in for Glorfindel, but it changed the story since it was at that moment for example that Frodo stood up to and defied the Lord of the Nazgul who breaks Frodos sword with his piercing cry. Incidentally, that is one of the reasons Bilbo gives Frodo Sting, along with his mail coat. The only other major change worth noting was when the Fellowship enters Moria. In the movie version they find the remains of the slain dwarves just inside the gate and then try to double out before they are forced to go on. This frankly foreshadows and spoils somewhat the dramatic impact later of the Fellowship finding Balin's tomb and realizing than the the dwarf colony had indeed perished. These are not major changes, but worth noting. Most of what we know of the character of Arwen Evenstar comes from the appendice, not the book proper, so an attempt was made to weave her more into the story. It will not please all purists, but frankly it wasn't bad either.
As far as the DVD release itself, I am not overjoyed with the prospect of buying this film twice on DVD, but at least through the LOTR website and the media, the studio and director were very upfront about the DVD releases and exactly what they would contain in advance of either one being offered. That is a far better way to do business than most studios who wait until you have bought one DVD edition before releasing even details of a second! So enjoy the DVDs and I will see you at the movies in December for the premiere of "The Two Towers"! In the meanwhile, I hope those of you who enjoyed the film, but still have not read the books, will get busy and start reading. You will learn a great deal and appreciate the movies all the more. Best Wishes. CAL
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