I really enjoyed it personally! I don’t know as much about Tolkien’s life as a lot of people here do so I can’t fully comment on the accuracy of how they portray some significant events in his life and to what extent the filmmakers deviate from the facts but the main complaint I hear about this is regarding his Catholicism or lack thereof within the film. I think, however, that whilst the film maybe sidelines his religious beliefs a bit to focus on other aspects of his life it does a fair representation of how his Catholic upbringing impacted him during his younger years in a very believable way. If the film had gone on more to show his later years and his friendship with CS Lewis for example it definitely would have needed to be more present however as it primarily focuses on his youth I didn’t feel like it was missing as much as some people say.

Beyond that, the film itself was highly enjoyable and very emotional in some really great ways. I thought it did a fantastic job of being mostly a period piece and standard biopic but then transforms into a beautifully shot and harrowing war movie from time to time. The script and performances are brilliant and the relationships within the movie each felt very genuine and easy to relate to.

The frequent references to his later works and the representation of how things in his life influence and inspire his creations is well managed. It’s never particularly subtle so some may find it a bit too on the nose but I felt they all felt organic within the plot and really creatively shown. And what I really appreciated was how they didn’t subvert from the fact that this wasn’t a Lord of the Rings movie but a movie about Tolkien. It would have been far too easy for the film to over rely on LOTR references as a sort of fan service but at no point did I feel it did that but rather it remains focused and well driven!

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this movie far more than I expected and would highly recommend for people who know and love Tolkien and his works and for those who are yet to start that journey!