I can't believe I've never reviewed any of the original Lord of the Rings trilogy. I'm also kind of astonished Tyler thought we could watch all the extended edition versions on Thanksgiving. Is that a thing? They do kind of lend themselves to a post-turkey coma but I've never heard of making them a Thanksgiving tradition. It didn't matter because we only got through the first one and then switched to Prometheus in my ongoing attempt to make Bethany watch all the Alien movies. (Yes, we even watched Alien: Resurrection the night before.) Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood) is charged with bearing the One Ring to its place of destruction. He is joined by a complement of fellow hobbits, two representatives of men, an elf, and a dwarf, as well as the wizard Gandalf (Ian McKellan) in an effort to stop the ring from falling back into the hands of Sauron or one of his minions. The ring's corrupting influence is strong, however, and Frodo must watch for treachery from within as much as from without.
The extended edition really feels like a lot was added just to retcon in the Hobbit films since they came along later. It gives you a little more at the beginning with Bilbo (Ian Holm), a little more with the elves, and a little more backstory for Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen). Nothing you can't live without if you don't feel like sitting through 3+ hours.
The movie itself is worth revisiting. Even coming up on twenty years later, the CGI looks as fresh as ever, the performances are solid, and the epic grandeur remains undiminished. This is truly a series to stand the test of time, despite the shameless (but still entertaining!) cash grabs that would follow.
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