Content Starts Here
The Lord of the Rings film review
THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING
Running time: 178 mins
Starring: Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Sean Bean, Viggo Mortensen, Christopher Lee, Cate Blanchett, Liv Tyler, Sean Astin, Orlando Bloom, John Rhys Davies, Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan, Hugo Weaving
This year's two most highly anticipated films are both based on series of books that have become phenomenal worldwide successes, treasured by their fans and deeply instilled into the planet's collective conscious. Both deal with mythical figures, fantasy lands, spells, curses and objects possessed of magical powers. And both films are owned by the same company. Now that Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone has done the business for Warner Bros the world over, its sibling independent company New Line releases the first of three instalments of Tolkien's legendary work. Film executives and legions of diehard Tolkien fans alike will be holding their breath to see if the first part of this hugely ambitious enterprise will pay off both in terms of box office and in bringing an 'unfilmable' work to the big screen.
Happily for all concerned, director Peter Jackson's well-chronicled efforts to bring Tolkien's world to life (years in the planning and making, thousands of extras, state of the art computer graphics) has yielded a film that is nothing short of magnificent. Certainly, Tolkien purists may grumble about the fact that the odd character or detail has been swept aside, but so much love, attention to detail and talent has gone into this first film that both confirmed fans of the source material as well as those who have never read it will find plenty to enjoy.
The plot, if you are not one of the purists, can be pared down to a relatively simple synopsis, despite the lengthy running time of the film: in Middle Earth a ring is bequeathed to a young hobbit Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood). It is no ordinary ring, but one which could restore power to Sauron, the Dark Lord of Mordor, and consequently cast Middle Earth into slavery. In order to prevent from happening this Frodo must return the ring to where it was forged and destroy it. He is assisted on his journey by a fellowship containing fellow hobbits, a wizard, men, a dwarf and an elf. Of course the journey is not going to be easy, as it means crossing the Dark Lord's territory, filled with armies of orcs and ringwraiths all determined to recapture the ring and therefore let evil triumph forever.
The first third of the film is a hugely enjoyable introduction to the world and central characters of Middle Earth. Bilbo Baggins (Ian Holm), the unwitting possessor of the ring for 60 years, is celebrating his eleventy-first birthday and the village of Hobbiton is determined to see it go with a bang. The wizard Gandalf (Ian McKellen) returns to join the party and no-one is more excited to see him than the young Frodo. When Gandalf realises that Bilbo has the ring he immediately foresees the implications and the necessity of returning it to the place where it was forged. Frodo is the one to lead this expedition.
Accompanied by three fellow hobbits he is soon weaving his way through the dangers of the Prancing Pony Inn, the elfen refuge Rivendell and the perilous mines of Moria. Slowly his troupe increases in size to include an elf (Orlando Bloom), two men (Viggo Mortensen and Sean Bean), Gandalf himself and a dwarf (John Rhys-Davies). Not only will their friendship be put to the test on the arduous journey, but their commitment to the cause will lead to introspection, self-doubt and potential discord among the group
The special effects and recreation of a world that until now has only lived in the imagination are simply superb and match or beat anything that has been seen in the cinema. The set pieces, such as battles against the orcs and ringwraiths, are only describable using superlatives. But most pleasing of all is the care the director and actors have put into the creation of each character: uniformly excellent, it seems churlish to single any out for individual praise in such a momentous team effort, but three British veterans set an example which the others follow: messrs Holm, McKellen and Lee put in three of the best performances of their glittering careers. To see Christopher Lee (80 and still going strong) in a fight with McKellen which would put some of The Matrix to shame is one of the film's many highlights.
If you have read the book, you will already know how the first episode ends: if you haven't it is essential to remember that this is part of a trilogy. The sad thing is that we will have to wait twelve months until we find out what happens next.
Font size
Mail
My account
Help
Community
Print now
Send to a friend
Related articles
Related products
