They've had these up on Prime for a bit, and decided to revisit it. It's been probably over a decade since I've revisited it last. Not aging so gracefully for me. I've been a huge Tolkien fan since my childhood, so I was lined up on release night for each film when they released, and got the beautiful book-sleeved extended edition DVDs (after already buying the initial DVD releases) each time they released -- still on our bookshelves.
At the time -- and still now -- I really appreciated that the stories weren't turned into anything more than what Tolkien originally wrote. With the exception of a few presentation changes, they were everything I wanted from a movie translation of the books. But, oh dear Lord, did they overdo it with the silliness ("Legolas, what do your elf eyes see?"
). Even back when they originally released, I was irritated by the silly nonsense between Gimli and Legolas; that stink has only ripened over the years. But the over-dramatized silliness is pretty cringy today. And of course, the amazing film trickery that impressed the balls off of all of us back then, now sticks out like a sore thumb. That being said, the films still have a certain purity to them, and I'm still quite moved at moments throughout.
As an aside, and truly, I just don't know how else to express this: though I don't feel like there was any racism intentionally involved, the films feel very...white. Perhaps that was Tolkien's fault. Too long ago to remember. Haven't read any of his books in decades.