| The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring |
| 2001, New Line. Directed by Peter Jackson. Starring Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Viggo Mortensen, Sean Astin, Liv Tyler, Cate Blanchett, John Rhys-Davies, Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan, Orlando Bloom, Hugo Weaving, Sean Bean, Ian Holm, Christopher Lee. Voice of Andy Serkis. Rated PG-13 for intense and violent battle scenes and scary images. |
| Grade: A+ |
| Review by Anthony |
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| J.R.R. Tolkien's world of Middle-Earth (complete with hobbits, elves, dwarfs, and orcs) is brought to life in this fantasy masterpiece. The task has fallen on Frodo Baggins to bring the One Ring of Power to Mount Doom in the evil land of Mordor, the only place where it can be destroyed. If the Ring is destroyed, the Dark Lord Sauron, enemy of all that is good, will be defeated. If the Ring is found by Sauron, he will be unstoppable and will subdue all of Middle-Earth. With the help of eight companions, Frodo sets out to complete his task and save Middle-Earth. Peter Jackson could easily have ruined a much-loved classic, but he doesn't. He does a superb job at re-creating The Lord of the Rings. For the most part, he stays true to the book. There are some changes (most notably the extended role of Arwen), but they are not serious enough to change the overall feel of the book. On a visual level, the movie can't be beaten. The special effects and cinematography are excellent, from the half-sized hobbits to the Mines of Moria. The scenery is also very good. The country-side feel of the Shire, the Tower of Isengard, and other such settings were wonderfully created. The casting is overall very good (with one exception). Elijah Wood makes for a good Frodo, although he is rather young for the part (in the book, Frodo is in his 50's). Sean Astin, Billy Boyd, and Dominic Monaghan are also very good in their respective roles as the supporting hobbits. Ian McKellen and Viggo Mortensen both fit into their characters very well as Gandalf and Strider. Sean Bean and John Rhys-Davies also fit their parts as Boromir and Gimli the dwarf, and Orlando Bloom and Liv Tyler both make very good elves. My one critique concerns Cate Blanchett's portrayal as Galadriel. Tolkien envisioned Galadriel as a type of Blessed Virgin. In this film, there is no recognizing any such representation. Galadriel is supposed to be unmistakably good and beautiful, but Blanchett's Galadriel is actually rather creepy. I have known people who, not having read the book first, weren't sure if she was good or evil. This I think shows a mistake in the way she is presented. Liv Tyler, on the other hand, fits into a similar role as Arwen much better. Tolkien described The Lord of the Rings as "a fundamentally religious and Catholic work". Although the movie (like the book) contains no explict and unmistakable religious content, it does contain some religious imagery. Although it omits some elements found in the book, the movie still contains some imagery necessary to the overall story. For example, the Ring and the powerful temptation that comes with it represents sin. Frodo's sacrificial act of bearing the weight and burden of the Ring for the sake of all Middle-Earth parallels Christ's sacrifice. Similarly, there is also a key scene in which a character dies a sacrificial death. The movie also contains other minor elements not found in the book (Arwen almost seems to be praying for Frodo, and Strider makes a motion with his hand that resembles the sign of the cross). The Fellowship of the Ring is a successful adaptation of a great story. It is exciting, action-packed, and it wonderfully retells the age-old story of good versus evil. |