The Fellowship of the Ring [Peter Jackson's]

9/10

This film was excellent. But, as much as I loved the film I prefer the book. It bugs me that now when I read The Return of the King (Part3 of LoTR). I keep imagining Pippin with a Scottish accent. Not that that's a bad thing, it's just that I've forgotten how I imagined Pippin. Every other character, I still imagine them how I originally did so. I think it's better to have read the books before seeing the film because that way you see the characters/places how you would see them and not just how they look in Peter Jackson's film. I also think the film would of been miles better if it was made for a 15-rating instead of PG / PG-13. :P

The prologue at the beginning of the film was good. Imagine if they had just jumped into the story! The prologue was excellent. It contained all the details that would be significant to the Lord of the Rings. I loved how you could hear the elven language in the background before you hear the English translation.

I wasn't sure about Elijah Wood playing Frodo before seeing the film or any pictures. Not "not sure", he just wasn't what I imagined hobbits as. Ian Holms fit Bilbo Baggins perfectly! Anyway, I imagined hobbits with scruffy hair and horrible skin. So I thought Elijah looks too nice to play Frodo. But I was wrong. They all (the hobbits) were wonderful. Elijah was good as Frodo: scared, weak, unsure, not really knowing what to do. (Does he do these sorts of characters a lot? e.g. The Faculty and Deep Impact) Christopher Lee was plain evil as Saruman. And Ian Mckellen as Gandalf, he has a face of a million various pensive expressions! Haha! The orcs are as disgusting as I imagined them. And they all have individual appearances so it is like the orcs were bred and not cloned. The villains and monsters were scary and pure evil. Unlike some films where the "evil, monstrous enemy" is a comical character who just happens to be plotting to wreak havoc on the world.

Gimli is hilarious. Everyone laughed out loud at him ("Nobody throws a dwarf!....not the beard!). Sean Bean played Boromir's character well. He gets that look in his eyes and sort of squints when he's being tempted by the Ring and suggesting to use it for good. Viggo Mortensen is a good actor. He can do different characters. I think this because I've seen him in 28 Days (he plays a guy addicted to sex and drugs) and A Walk on the Moon (or something. here he plays a man who the main character has an affair with). Hugo Weaving was a bit of a shocker! I had no clue that he was playing Elrond. At moments he sounds like the agent from The Matrix. I mostly found his Matrix-agent-tone when he says ".....is wearing thin." He does fit the part but it's too bad I always see him as the agent from The Matrix. That will probably all change after seeing Part 2 or if I see him in other films. I'll probably forever see him as Elrond the Agent then. "Welcome to Rivendell....Mr. Anderson." Don't think I really need to mention Legolas here!

A lot of people were/are bothered about Arwen being portrayed as a "Warrior-elf". That doesn't bother me. I like that she is "tough" in the movie. Besides, in the book when Frodo sees Arwen at Elrond's house he sees a beautiful elf....[ I'll insert what was written later! My book is elsewhere at the moment! ]. He sees her for the first time in the same way in the movie: she's shown in bright, hazy light. It's silly that some people compared her to Xena. Well, many people thought that Peter Jackson was planning to make a Xena out of Arwen. I'm glad they didn't! I don't have anything against Xena, but it would have been inapproporiate to make Arwen like Xena.

In the books, one of the characterisitcs of Legolas that I loved was his childish curiosity. He gets excitied when he sees something new in the trees and forests. Although not childish, Legolas in the film still had that curiosity, that interest he has when he's somewhere new. It's shown when he's in Lothlorien and when he arrives at Elrond's house. He gets off his horse and immediately studies the area and at Lothlorien we see him strolling around, again, studying and admiring the area.

I wish they included the wargs (wolves?) in the film. They had the birds as Saruman spies which was great but wish they had the wargs as well. Also, on the birds, I think the flock should have been thicker / denser. That's only because that's how I imagined it. The Fellowship sees the flock from afar and say things like "It looks like a cloud and it's moving this way..." I think there weren't enough birds in the flock for it to look like a cloud in the distance. Another thing that bugged me was, when I watched FoTR a second time, the extreme close-ups on their faces. I found that there were just too many of them! I wanted to see behind them as well! That was just the second time. Maybe I have to see it again to see if it still bugs me. ( But that won't be anytime soon because I'm broke right now! ) Would have really liked to see more on Legolas and Gimli bonding, but I hear that those scenes were filmed and were cut out so here's hoping to see them in the future. I hear there's going to be Special Edition, fantastic!

My favourite part was in the Mines of Moria, the whole sequence in the mines, especially the battle scenes. At Balin's tomb, when the goblins [goblins was it? I forget..correct me if I'm wrong.] were attacking the Fellowship and they barred the doors then stood back ready to battle, waiting for the goblins to bash their way in, the music was suspenseful and loud. The second time I watched FoTR I noticed Aragorn's and Legolas' expression when they both held their bows while waiting for the goblins to get through. Legolas' was calm and focused but Aragorn, focused as well, appeared more worried and nervous. When the goblins finally bashed their way in ( well, bashed a hole in anyway where Legolas shot an arrow through ) the music just stops and there's sounds of swords clanging and many a "aaaaaaaarrrrghhhhhhhh" as they fight. That was great how the music just stops as the battle begins. The battle is rather a confusing sight, the shot cuts from character to character: first you see Aragorn, then suddenly you see Legolas and then it cuts to Boromir, and so on. I really enjoyed watching them fight. I liked the way the shot jumped from person to person. I've heard people complain that they don't know what they're looking at in those battles but I think that it was good to make the audience feel that way because that's probably how the characters felt in those moments. I like the added staircase scence. Legolas leaps across without a second thought. I found that amusing. He just leaps, turns and says, "Gandalf", urging him to follow like it's so easy! ( Easy for elves, Legolas! ).

I can't get enough of the fight sequences and action in FoTR. One fight after another, non-stop action! Excellentt stuff! In the mines, they're fighting the goblins and then suddenly a cave troll comes charging in. They go fleeing through the halls, get surrounded and a Balrog shows up! Goblins scatter [ is it goblins or orcs or something else?? ], they run to the staircase and *surprise*surprise* the staircase has a gap and it's falling apart. The Fellowship have to get across while being under seige by arrows at the same time. Most of them get across by leaping or being thrown but Aragorn and Frodo are still on the other side which so happens to have crumbled behind them so they can't turn back even if they wanted to so they use their wait to guide the tumbling rock forward. The two of them get across and the staircase continues to topple in the background. Phew! Then they get to the bridhe and Gandalf faces the Balrog. [ You know what happens next, if not watch the film! And read the books! Hehehe.] To be honest, while reading the books I didn't feel sad for Gandalf. It felt abrupt, I was shocked, stunned but not sad. The film made me stunned and the whole scene ( the character's reactions and the music ) made me get a lump in my throat! I won't go into the falls of Rauros, I'll just say that the battle there was amazing as well, ( Legolas and his archery skills! Amazing. ) Oh, the suspense!

I don't understand when viewers whinge about there being no ending. I wouldn't say that the film had a solid, firm ending but it didn't bother me. Instead, it left me starving for more! When the credits started rolling the first thought that came to mind was "I need more now!" Of course, we all have to wait a whole year. It will be an anxious but worthwhile wait. Just thinking about it gets me all worked up again! The problem with the wait thought is my access to the internet. I am terrible at avoiding spoilers. I always end up reading a slight bit of spoilers but that's enough to ruin it for me! So far, I have been a very good girl. I have not read a thing about Part 2 and 3. But it's so hard to not look at the pictures that are available all over the web. When it comes to films like this my motto is "Ignorance is bliss." I go into forums and there are threads entitled "What to expect in The Two Towers" or "Differences from the book in the The Two Towers." I'm just itching to read them! But, no. I want to go in and get surprised. I forget what I've read when I watch FoTR, I didn't even notice the absence of Radagast the Brown because the whole story just flows seemlessly. If you haven't read the books, it was Radagast, not the moth, who summoned Gwaihir to rescue Gandalf from Saruman's tower (I was misinformed about Radagast). Gandalf catching the moth in his hand was beautiful.

FoTR could have been better, but then so can a lot of other things. I love this film. Does not make me want to rush off to New Zealand though. Lol. Loved the music and how the music is used to emphasise the atmosphere. The settings were incredible, not just the scenery, the whole ambience of the situations. It's great to see Middle-earth come to life and it's refreshing to see a fantasy film that's serious, not cheesy. And not made especially for children!

Added bonus of the film: packed with eye-candy :P

Cherrybomb_elf

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What did you think of the recent movie, The Fellowship of the Ring?

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