What a magical world The Lord of the Rings brings us! J.R.R. Tolkien didn't have an idea that there would be a movie made after his books, but if he could see the sights that one of the most talented filmmakers has interpreted, he would probably not even know that his writing could inspire such a feast for the eyes. Director Peter Jackson takes on the Lord of the Rings with a rare passion for what he's creating. Like the pros at directing this type of trilogy/fantasy type of film, Jackson tackled the first book of The Lord of the Rings with the kind of visionary heights, and thoroughly thought out story not seen since George Lucas took on his best works, the Star Wars Trilogy. Peter Jackson stays surprisingly faithful to the book (although I haven't read them, the people that have agreed with this statement) without boring us with tiny details that were not needed. The film kept my attention the majority of the time despite its three hour long running length. The minority of the time, my attention was wandering, and that is one of the minor flaws that of the film: It's a tad too long. Other than that, this film is meticulously crafted in almost every area. Ian McKellen is excellent as the good wizard and should definitely be nominated as Best Supporting Actor at the Academy Awards. He IS Gandolf. Every part of his character is portrayed perfectly and makes you beleive even more in the movie's magical transportation to another world. Other than Ian McKellan, there is Elijah Wood, as the character, Frodo. He is also correctly cast for the role. His performance shows he is capable of taking on a more advanced, developed type of character, than in his previous performances. Sean Astin also works wonderfully as Frodo's counterpart, and good friend. The other characters, excluding a few, make for too big of a cast, and make it impossible for the viewer to care about more than a few of them. That, if you were wondering, is the other flaw in the film: Too many characters. If I tried to explain the plot in this review, that is confined to a minimum of a few pages; you would probably be more confused than happily informed about the story line. All I will tell you is that it is about a ring that could either lead to the reign of evil on the earth, or the reign of righteousness. The carrier of the ring is a hobbit named Frodo. If from what I tell you, this sounds like the regular fairy tail, you are greatly mistaken, and should go to the movie to find out how badly mistaken you are, and how hard it is to explain the intimate details that give the film a mytholigical feel, or even an allegorical type of story. If you have ever read Pilgrims Progress, try to recognize the details that are alike in both stories. The cinematography by Andrew Lesnie is striking and can easily take your breath away. It is probably the best of the year, and will take another Academy award home for the film. Lesnie does great photographing the hills and mountains, and gives us a feel similar to Mel Gibson's "Braveheart" by flying in arc around the hills and letting us breath the mountain air as the hobbits and wizards do. If you are worried about the content in this film, you should know that it has many scary images in it. The makeup is so realistic that you forget that there are real people under the wrinkly and evil looking skin of the costumes for the villains. Jackson's meticulous habits formed about each and every contributor to the film into a working mold that holds steady and keeps the surprises coming. However, I am not as much as a fan of the film as some critics, but I think it's a great adventure flick with a good story. It just lasts too long and has too many characters, that's all. |
| The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring |
| *** stars |
| New Zealand/United States, 2001 MPAA Classification: PG-13 (Violence, mature themes) Cast: 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 Director: Peter Jackson Producers: Peter Jackson, Barrie M. Osborne, Tim Sanders Screenplay: Fran Walsh & Philippa Boyens & Peter Jackson, based on the novel by J.R.R. Tolkien Cinematography: Andrew Lesnie Music: Howard Shore U.S. Distributor: New Line Cinema |