I was a moderate admirer of Tolkein. I read the Hobbit and the first and third books of the trilogy. I never really got in to the world of Middle Earth to the same level as the scores of D&D folks, but I consider myself a fan. That said, this movie left me feeling flat and uninspired. The books were not written to tell a story, they just existed, just as history books don't necessarily have a moral or plot. The movie however is trying to concoct a moral in this tale. The fellowship is far to thin to carry me along. I didn't care for any of the characters and the dialouge seemed very rigid and uninspired. Overall it wasn't a bad movie, and I suspect if the editing was a little tighter and about 30 minutes was trimmed off the end, I would call it a success. As of now, I can only recommend for the super fans, and suspect that if the second one isn't improved it will bomb.
