2004 Hugo Review - Dramatic Presentation (Long)

How I voted, from favorite to least favorite:

1. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
2. Finding Nemo
3. 28 Days Later
4. X2: X-Men United
5. Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl

My comments, in reverse order:

5. Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pear.
Fun, kooky, a nice set of characters, and pirates ("Pirates is good"). But, not really science fiction or fantasy, except for the haunted gold, and I liked the other nominees better.

4. X2: X-Men United
I've been an X-Men fan since I was a kid, so I wasn't missing this movie for anything. I liked it, it was solid and delivered on the promise of the comic book, along with setting up one of the big events in the run of the modern X-Men comics. Nothing deep, but a lot of fun.

3. 28 Days Later
I didn't actually see this movie, but gave it the benefit of a doubt based on the reviews I read. I think it's probably more science fiction than the previous two, which is why I placed it third.

2. Finding Nemo
OK, so this isn't real science fiction or even fantasy. But I really liked the movie and in fact my kids did too. Because, in the end, the Hugos is a popularity contest among fandom, I felt fine grading this movie second (behind a more classic SF/fantasy novel).

1. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.
A great movie ending a great sequence based on a great set of books. I think that this series will be the yardstick by which all fantasy movies over the next few years will be measured. And rreally, is there any doubt that this WON'T win the hugu?