Having missed this movie when it was out in the theaters, my husband and I decided to rent the DVD before we puchased it...a smart decision as it turned out. This movie was so terrible that we turned if off after the first hour: the only reason I subjected myself to that much of this drivel is because I love Ian McKellan's acting, regardless of what part he plays. He's the only reason I even gave this movie 1 star--that and because 0 stars is not possible with amazon.com's rating system. Elijah Wood is beyond irritating as Frodo, the villian who forged the ring is utterly impotent, and the Golum character who terrified me when I was a child and first exposed to this story was completely pitiable in this hackneyed version--getting my money back from the video store for this rental was easy; where do I go to demand a refund of my time is what I need to know now.