Okay, so I'm zipping through the last 60 pages of the Fellowship of the Ring so I'll finish it before seeing the movie. I know it's playing in a few theaters at midnight tonight but I don't know if I'll actually see it. Aside from tickets being difficult to come by, it's over 3 hours long (including previews) and I have to work in the morning. Bah.

So 90% of the reviews out so far have been raving about how great it is, particularly in how closely it follows the novel. But I don't get it.

The last commercial I saw talked about 'epic love' and, reading the book, unless they're talking about the love Sam has for his 'master' Frodo, I don't have any idea what they're talking about. Love is not any part of this story. In fact, the story is all about the company of men, and not in that kind of way either.

To put it another way: Hobbits have a way of making Arthur Dent seem randy.

So are the ads just being deceptive? Are reviews being written by journalists who couldn't make it past the first admittedly slow 40 pages, and don't want to admit it? Or do the last 60 pages consist largely of orgiastic revelry to counter the previous 400 pages of not?

Time will tell (and, I suppose, sex will sell).