Lord of the Rings, The: Book I - The Return of the Shadow

Review by GeneralNerd — September 3, 2010 @ 1:19 am

I’ve watched all 6 parts now and I really liked a lot of what you did to change it. Here’s a simple list of what I liked and didn’t like.

Liked:
The improved pacing. Watching my extended edition, I usually find myself bored, distracted, or falling asleep by the time Arwen is trying to escape the Black Riders on horseback. With your version, I was riveted.

The Black Riders seemed more threatening. It was mostly the small cuts you made that achieved this; they came across as more mysterious and harder to beat. It really made the whole thing feel more tense.

I was worried about how Arwen would come across when you’ve downplayed her more action filled moments, but it actually worked out fairly well.

Disliked:
The length. This isn’t really long enough to be its own movie. Not really your fault, though. You didn’t have much to work with in that regard.

The climax felt a bit too understated to me.

There’s a bit too much humor cut out. I know you were going for increased tension, but this really was one of the more lighthearted parts of the book, especially Pippin.

That said, I really liked it. I give it an 8/10.

Review by mullholland665 — July 5, 2010 @ 1:12 pm

I’m no Tolken purist but this series is a fantastic idea, and Part 1 is well thought out and so professionally done.

I haven’t watched the trilogy in 3 years, which is why I think I enjoyed this so much because I wasn’t distracted too much by what had changed. The new opening is fantastic. Thanks for the hard work!

Review by Ripplin — March 20, 2010 @ 10:09 pm

A nice start to the series. Great job with the actual editing and a nice bonus cartoon as well! Looking forward to watching the next ones. :)

Review by ab5tract — March 6, 2009 @ 5:28 am

kerr,
Wow! Impressive debut. I personally had zero problems with your editing decisions. In fact quite the opposite, I thought they were excellent. The pacing was very compelling, and beginning the movie with Bilbo writing is Awesome. The battle flashbacks were mixed in perfectly, and even seemed to carry the ‘timing’ of PJ in the way they were interwoven. Audio transitions were seamless here.

I am very happy that I have Book II here to pop in :)

10/10 Stars

-0 Stars. I can’t find one thing I don’t like about it.

Review by juden — June 15, 2009 @ 8:11 pm

*This rating was given before reviews were required*