Lord of the Rings

[Nick Douglas]

Alright, I hate it when people trash movies online anonymously, so I am going to only do it on this site. Actually, i am not so much trashing the movie, more the marks that are hyping this film up to be the best blockbuster movie since Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Because I try to be a positive guy, I have to tell you that Lord of the Rings is one of the most visually awesome movies ever. The special effects and the way the fight scenes and landscapes and castles were done is breathtaking. There is no other word for it. And I love the job the director, Peter Jackson, did in creating a fairy tale look for this film. It was quite striking.

That said, the story was so mediocre, maybe even outright bad, that I was absolutely shocked by the time the credits rolled. I saw it at midnight on Tuesday with a packed house of rabid fans and the threatre was totally deflated by the time it ended. There was a smattering of applause but to put that in reference, there was twice as much applause when the previews started because the audience was so hyped.

My main problem is the ending was totally unsatisfying, there was no third act and the villians were totally uninteresting and not three dimensional at all.

I am sure most of you will see it but I just had to write something after all these reviews i have seen praising this as the best movie in decades. Love to hear your thoughts.

 

[redsfann]

Why would you assume that "most" of us would see this movie, Nick? I'm 37 years old, not 15. I have as much interest in seeing this movie as I do in seeing "Harry Potter." None. Zip. Zilch. Zippo.
You want to review movies, review some porn, Steven Segal's latest or any other movie where someone that visits this site might give a f$*k about.
Save these kinds of reviews for the Disney site.....

 

[Skinar]

I haven't seen the movie yet, but I will. Unfortunately my expectations are now lowered because of Nick's review. Nevertheless, I still think that Tolkien's creation of Middle Earth is a masterpiece, and I only hope that just a little of his magic can come through on the screen.

I'm 50 and I truly enjoy Harry Potter as well, the books and the movie. A willing suspension of disbelief can be a healthy thing from time to time.

 

[fletcher]

i was in to the jr ani's back in college back in the smoking days but will see this one and would probley enjoy it more if i had a few hits but days lond passed and will still enjoy it.the xannax will make the special effects just fine

 

[in2fitness]

I'll wait till it comes out on PPV so I can watch it courtesy of Dave.

 

[goofy]

going tonite to see it.

lowered expectations aren't necessarily a bad thing. sometimes we work things up to such a level in our own minds it is bound to be a disappointment.

bought the ani's a few months ago for my two sons. they love the songs. "where there's a whip, there's a way"

 

[buddy]

Nick,

Thanks for the review. Appreciate the write-up. Wife and I will see it within next two days.

 

[goofy]

saw it last night. loved it.

You have to have read the books. If you haven't I could see where the story line will be filled with holes or things don't make much sense.

saw it with my wife and had to explain stuff to her sometimes as she had never read the book. she might have even been more confused cause she had seen the two animations with me and our sons (bits and pieces anyway) and she was trying to fit the movie in with the Return of the King cartoon (which basically have nothing to do with one another since that cartoon is the last book) and that led to some confusion.

I'd recommend reading the books. They are lengthy but worth it. The movie actually follows the first book very closely (although as usual some stuff is left out or glanced over). I thought it was great and it got a very good response from the audience.

 

[Hoops]

If you have any interest in this type of subject...Tolkien, fantasy type movies, etc., go see it. Even if you aren't, this movie is good enough for most people to enjoy. This was a horrendous year in cinema..quality movies were extremely rare, but this ranks right up at the top along with Memento and I could probably include Mulholland Drive on that short list. It is 3 hours long, which might turnoff plenty of people, but regardless, it's one of the best movies of the year and a worthy Academy Award contender (even though its genre is not one usually considered for many awards and the Academy Awards are for the most part, clueless).

[This message has been edited by Hoops (edited 12-21-2001).]

 

[lfbd]

I have read the books twice but it was many years ago. I really tried to supress my anxiety about the latest version because of how disappointing the first movie was. When I read about all that went into the making of this one I was skeptical that it was all hype, however I have to say Peter Jackson did a magnificent job of "translating" this work to video, and maybe the reason the ending was so unsatisfying to you is because the end of the story is still 2 movies away.

 

[Nick Douglas]

I agree with Hoops on Memento and I would add Royal Tennenbaums as one of the top movies this year.