Reviewed by: Kris

Directed by: Peter Jackson

Produced by: N/A

Cast: Ian McKellen, Orlando Bloom, Viggo Mortensen, Elijah Wood, John Rhys-Davies, Sean Bean, Sean Astin, Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan, Christopher Lee

Rated PG-13 Standard version 178 minutes Special Edition 208 minutes Sci-Fi/Fantasy In ancient times the Rings of Power were crafted by the Elven-smiths, and Sauron, the Dark Lord, forged the One Ring, filling it with his own power so that he could rule all others. But the One Ring was taken from him, and though he sought it throughout Middle-Earth still it remained lost to him. After many ages it fell, by chance, into the hands of the Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins. On his eleventy-first birthday, Bilbo disappeared, bequeathing to his young nephew, Frodo, the Ruling Ring. Frodo travels to Rivendell, where he meets up with the Fellowship: Gandalf, Sam, Legolas, Merry, Pippen, Aragorn, Gimli, and Boromir. They embark on a quest to destroy the Ring in the depths of Mordor.

I did not like this film when I first saw it. I thought it was kind of hard to follow and I thought it was boring because there was so much talking and walking. After I read all of the books, I watched this film again, and fell in love with it. This is an absolutely brilliant film. It makes much more sense after you read the books. The music is beautiful, and the filming is even more beautiful than that. This shots in this film are out a storybook. The mountains are so real, probably because they are real. I just want to go to New Zealand to visit these mountains.

The special effects are also amazing. The cave troll looks fairly real, especially when Legolas climbs on his head. We only get a slight glimpse of Gollom, but he too is pretty cool, at least his eyes are. Everything about this film gives me goosebumps. I think I could watch this movie five times in a row, at least. Every time I watch it, I notice something new. I can already recite all of the words spoken in the first eight minutes.

I prefer the special edition Fellowship of the Ring to the original version. It is about half an hour longer, but it is well worth it if you have read the books. There are special little treats built in for you, such as the gift giving in Lothlorien. If you haven’t read the books, stick to the shorter version because the extras are there for fans of the books. Definitely see this film, even if you watched it already and didn’t like it. Watch it again, closely, and you shall see that you like it. If you happen to have the extended version, watch it with the audio commentary, it is very funny. Ian McKellen, Orlando Bloom, and the four hobbits are the main commentators, and it makes me laugh, plus you will learn a lot about how they filmed everything.