Saw The Fellowship of the Rings last night. Very good. Nowhere near the books in richness, of course, but you can’t condense a 12-hour book into a 3-hour film without sacrificing something. The cinematography and the special effects were there in just the right doses, without overpowering the acting. Gandalf was amazing, Legolas was just right, and although I would’ve liked it if he cried less, Frodo was pretty good too. Even Arwen did not ruin the show as some feared she would. Shore’s music was just right, not too polished or orchestral. But, gosh darn it, when the lights came on after three hours, I felt really sad that I’d have to wait a whole year before I got to see the next instalment.

For such a technically polished movie, though, the print was baad. Actually, the sound sucked. It went off for a few seconds on more than one instance, and the music overpowered the dialog at quite a few places. True, the theater was crappy (Satyam, Chennai, don’t go there unless you have to), but some reviews make me wonder if some of the prints had defective audio. Sure hope they can iron out these glitches before The Two Towers (which, if you’ve read the book, is where the story comes out in all its glory). And I do hope they show some Ents in it .