Unlike most modern Hollywood 'epics,' this stirring film contains so much more than just eye-popping visuals. Rating: 9 out of 10.
201-Words-or-Less Film Review
Not since L.A. Confidential has a screenwriting/directorial team faced as challenging an adaptation as this. With both films, I really liked them on the first viewing, and after getting used to the changes from the source novels, absolutely loved them on the second and third.
Jackson has created a deep, vivid, frightening vision of Tolkein's story with deliciously late-sixties overtones. The casting is dead on, from Elijah Wood as Frodo to Christopher Lee as Saruman, and all the supporting cast. The prime example, of course, is Sir Ian McKellen as Gandalf...the perfect blend of regality, warmth, and crankiness one would expect in a wizard.
The pacing is perfect. Not frenetic, like typical Hollywood action fare, but with heart-pounding bursts within a steady, epic-appropriate pace. The film drew me in more and more as it went along and delivered several surprisingly touching emotional moments along the way.
Visual effects, acting, music by Howard Shore that enhances the story without hamhandedly ruining the picture...how many ways can I say it? This is not a perfect movie, but it is the best example in years of why I love movies in the first place.
Year: 2001 Director: Peter Jackson Writers: Fran Walsh, Phillipa Boyens, and Peter Jackson Running time: 178 minutes (feels shorter) Rating: PG-13 for "epic battle sequences and some scary images," but I think you could rate it R simply based on the appearance of the orcs (yuck). Not for little kids!
