| I for one hate movies that get eunanymous 10/10's, or at least watch them cautiously. Popularity is often a false alarm - look at the Fast and the Furious. But here's a movie that surpasses all expectations, stuns and pleases in equal quantities, and finishes leaving audiences with mouths gaping, enfuriated that they have to wait for more. I remember seeing "Directed by Peter Jackson" come up. I was furious... yet absolutely commited to coming back a year later. Just to dispel a popular myth, the movie is NOT a collection of special effects. It may contain a lot, but they're never put to lazy use, never pointless. From the Mines of Moria to Rivendell, this is one good looking movie, and deservedly so. Backed up with Tolkein's immortal books, the story is first rate, and the characters are fascinating (if generally depthless at this stage of the trilogy). The performances are first rate (Ian McKellen and Elijah Wood get my votes here, Viggo Mortisen not really stealing the stage until The Two Towers) and the production is beautiful. Not to mention the cinematography - some may think it's just a collection of wide angle sweeping helicopter shots, and to some extent this is true. I admit to expecting "Peugot, the drive of your life" to whip by on some occasions, which would be a bad thing if the movie wasn't great. it is. There's a general feel that there's something awesome happening here, from Howard Shore's excellent score to Jackson's very visual direction. The makeup etc is perfect, and... well what can I say, it all looks and sounds great. There's a surprising level of emotion involved, too. *SPOILER* (yeah right, like you haven't all seen it) the scene and music just after Gandalf's "death" is heart wrenching. *END SPOILER* It's a sweet, yet grand thing to watch. Truly rewarding, truly magnificent and thoroughly fun to watch, this is a movie for the ages. Here's hoping the other two maintain the standard. 10/10 |