This movie was visually spectacular from start to .... well almost to finish.  The shire was so well done that I could almost believe that these tiny people had lived in this land for hundreds of years.  The great cinematography and wonderful sweeping vistas throughout the movie made me feel as if Middle Earth truly existed.  And so when it came to the visual, it was top notch!

Special effects were fabulous!  Although the Wraiths on Weathertop were a bit cheesy, and the Moria orcs climbing down the pillars like vermin was a bit much, those items were surely overshadowed by the massive Elven and Human armies in the stories about Gil-Galad and Isildur!  The Balrog was superb, and the costumes and make-up was nothing short of breathtaking!  A+ for this part!

The story was pretty true to the books which was a great relief!  Some parts were left out as needed because of time, but there were several instances where I thought the movie portrayed the emotion better than the book!  As the fellowship flees Moria, in the book I read right past that.  In the movie, with Gandalf gone and the actors really grieving for him, I couldn't help but cry for them, heartbroken!

And so it comes to the Acting.  There were several times when the acting was really poor, and some was not inspired, but the following is a list of the actors who I thought were really great in this movie!

Elijah Wood as Frodo
Vigo Mortensen as Aragorn
Ian McKellen as Gandalf the Grey
Dominic Monaghan as Merry
Billy Boyd as Pippen

This was a great movie and although it's long and starts slowly, it's well worth the wait!

CK