This film is simply an incredible opening to a trilogy. I would argue that it is in the conversation for best opening film to a trilogy of all time. I say with all sincerity that this film delivers beautifully upon the story written in the books. Tolkien’s story is adapted incredibly well, with an amazing cast, an extensive and complicated story, which is told well enough to justify the 3 hour run time. The acting, and the script which was written, both were excellent. The story makes sense, explains itself well enough for all audiences to understand if they are paying attention, and is compelling. Then there are the absolutely stunning visual effects used throughout this film, with forced perspective in scenes creating the visual effect of grown men appearing to be 3.5 feet tall. The visual effects and cinematography in this film is really really impressive, and deserves the respect it has earned from an awards perspective in the industry. And the Film Score for this film is simply perfect, creating and immediately recognizable identity for the film’s, and a moving theme present for every character and moment. The sound design and effects are excellent as well, with the feeling of many scenes being improved and made more impactful by the effects. Each of these categories deservedly receive the 10/10 scores that I give them.

The Casting/Set Design/Costumes were great, and I almost gave the category a 10/10 for this one as well. I can’t really explain why, but it didn’t feel right to do so. There are aspects of the costuming that I felt was a little on the nose. For example the literal black and whiteness of the character costuming and its reference to whom is good and who is bad. But the casting in this film is nearly perfect, and many of the sets in the film were incredible as well! The Shire is one of favorite visual designs for a location set piece in a film ever. Its simple, beautiful with the wood work and architecture, and makes sense for the characters that it was designed for. I love this aspect of the film. And there are many other excellent examples of this in the film. But ultimately the category gets a 9/10 from me.

Finally the Impact category gets a score of 8.5/10 from me for the sole reason that the impact of this movie is hindered by the fact that the film is just the first third of the entire story. This movie is the introduction and set up of the truly impactful moments of Tolkien’s story, and yet, Peter Jackson still manages to crush the adaptation of the book and give multiple impactful moments in this film. So, I give a respectable 8.5/10 for the Impact of the film, and highly highly recommend this movie to all audiences. If you enjoy good story telling, then you should enjoy this film. Otherwise, YOUUUUUU SHALLLLL NOTTTTT…… PASSSSSS!

– Josh