An Extraordinary Beginning to an Epic Tale....

Rating: 10/10 (6 April 2002)

It was worth the wait. Incredible, Beautiful and Faithful to Tolkien's creation.
Personally, watching the movie felt like I had met old friends again, that I had not seen in years.
Never in my life have I ever read a book and then enjoyed the film version of it. Normally film adaptations are offensive and disgraceful in my eyes. There were plot changes, that is true. There were deletions, that is true. But all of them were tasteful and true with the spirit of Tolkien.
I first read the trilogy of LOTRs over 20 years ago when I was 12 and it wasn't until I wiped the last tear from my eye at the end of FOTR that I realised that it IS possible to see your imagination become a real and tangible force. Peter Jackson bought back all the excitement and wonder of a twelve year old boy, enjoying his first incredible action, adventure, fantasy story. When I think of the story of the LOTRs and the characters in the book, the faces of the actors are now emblazoned in my mind. All the characters are incredible and surreal, for me. I am glad that Gandalf, Frodo, Legolas and Aragorn travelled from middle earth to portray themselves in the movie.
The swarming of the Orcs and the Goblins, in Moria and at the beginning of FOTR, LOOKS, how the the book, LOTRs, READS. Rivendell, Lothlorien, Moria, Bree, Isengard, Mt Doom and especially Hobbiton were nothing short of amazing, if you have read and taken note of the discriptions in Tolkiens books, for example Bag End, with the tree roots weaving through Bilbo's house. I am overwhelmed by the way Peter Jackson has portrayed the beginning of this legendary journey. If you wait for the DVD or video you will have missed the movie experience that was last here when Star Wars or Grease was released ( more than 20 years ago, and many people describe those movies as an episode in their lives, FOTR has become the beginning of one in my life now).
I have anticipated this movie since I first heard about it,
The sets that Alan Howe designed show what pages and pages of Prof T's writing took to describe. The panoramic views of places are amazing - To put it in Sir Ian McKellans words "Middle earth does exist and it is New Zealand", who knew that there was such a place?
Here is a movie that immediately has two strikes against it. First, when a novel is adapted into film, the film version usually falls short of the detail of the novel. Look at Jurassic Park, The Firm, and even Harry Potter. The second strike against Lord of the Rings is the amount of hype it has received. When the anticipation builds over 12 months, the actual experience can fall way short of expectations. Remember Star Wars: Episode 1?
One way that The Fellowship of the Ring differs from any Star Wars or Harry Potter movie is that this is not a self-contained movie. The full story will be told and concluded over the next two years when the The Two Towers and The Return of the King are released in December of 2002 and 2003 respectively. So the abrupt ending of The Fellowship of the Ring might confuse some movie goers, but Jackson stays true to the novel's form in his decision to end the movie and properly tease the audience to want more
Did Prof T's spirit touch PJ and his casting staff or what? I finally felt for Frodo and the conflicts he goes through. Elijah Woods' amazing eyes show expression from laughter to deepest regret. The scene of him flirting with the hobbit maidens while he dances makes his eventual leaving of Middle-Earth all the more poignant. And the look on his face outside Moria after Gandalf has fallen spoke as "It was ultimately my decision as the Ring-Bearer to go into Moria and look what happened."
I liked the way that PJ interpreted the Bridge of Khazad-Dum as Gandalf, CHOOSING, through his love of Frodo, to let go of the Bridge and do what he must do to aid the Quest, "Fly you Fools". That was a subtle and vital change, and gives another dimension to the plot that will be discussed for years.
Legolas! The Elves! Where does one find such beautiful people? Showing actual, realistic bow and knife combat (including stabbing one Uruk-Hai with an arrow, taking it out and firing it - who'd have thunk it?) and expanding the character of Legolas including his fighting capabilities was a refreshing plot-line. The walking on top of snow that is really not explained on-screen is another subtlety, like the devotion of the younger hobbits to Frodo, that PJ is able to bring to the film.
Now onto some details that I think translated well onto the screen:
Elrond's anger towards men and his disappointment with them is so well explained in the scene with Isildur, and makes the love between Arwen and Aragorn all the more (again) poignant. He will lose his beloved daughter to a Man. I loved the expanded dialogue between Gandalf and Elrond - again, it gives an additional dimension to the Council and the final decision. And the fierceness on Elrond's face was not an expression that I expected. Yes has been depicted as kindly but he was, after all, a warrior as well. Glad to know what a Standard-Bearer does in battle - very realistic.
I think that the friendship between Gandalf and Bilbo was well shown in blowing smoke-rings. The training of young hobbits to sword-fighting. Of course you would train them when your party stops for a rest! Brilliant scene.
The test of Galadriel, well thats how I always imagined it in the books so I don't know why some of the movie critics are slamming that scene. She isn't some goody fairy queen, shes a powerful 4000 year old elf queen. Who strikes fear amongst anyone who has ever heard about her.
Now to answer some of the critics:
Lothlorien - Yes it is dark - it shines by starlight, the most beloved light of the Eldar. Ever been outside of your doors on a moonless night? Gimli the Dwarf was only blindfolded while they traveled into Lothlorien until the message came from Galadriel - if you give Haldir the message immediately when the Fellowship enters Lothlorien and take out two days of travel, you have no need to blindfold a dwarf.
ARWEN: Why NOT have a sword-wielding elf, and a second sword-wielding maiden? Having a second sword-wielding woman makes Eowyn's character less of an anomaly. In a land where the Shadow is becoming stronger, why not teach your daughter to defend herself? Elrond was the Standard-Bearer of Gil-Galad, and Celebrian had been taken by the Orcs. It is therefore a logical step that he would teach his beloved daughter what his wife may or may not have known - we don't know if, when Celebrian was taken, whether she even knew how to fight back. PJ's portrayal of Arwen as a Warrior shows that Elrond loves Arwen enough to give her the fighting advantages that Elrond as a male takes for granted. The lack of number of women characters and certainly their lack of development (with the exception of Eowyn) is a criticism of Prof T's work that may or may not be justified, given his deep Catholic beliefs, his friendship with C.S. Lewis (who viewed birth control as abhorrent), and shows how women were looked at 50-60 years ago.
Second, how on Middle-Earth or above it can a Ranger who is himself a trained warrior, form a life-time partnership with a beautiful lady who sits next to Daddy (re-read the part!) and sews a banner as her life's work? Those are Arwen's only parts in the books, before the appendix. Peter Jackson is showing in his characterization of Arwen, his expansion of her character, his making her a REAL charcter, that real love evolves between equals, not between he-men and helpless maidens! I was glad to see that Arwen loves Aragorn, not just that he desires her, and to see the love story develop. Also glad to see that PJ didn't rely on heaving bosoms and other Hollywood stereotypes to show sex, but instead had an understanding of the support and depth that a lifetime's love has.
When the credits finally rolled after 3 hours, I found myself back in the theatre, But what I really wanted to do was go back to Middle Earth and continue my journey!
If you've read the books, go see the movie and you won't be disappointed. If you haven't read the novels, go see the movie and you'll want to stop by a bookstore on your way home, to fully appreciate the world that J.R.R. Tolkien has created. This film's three-hour running time will not allow it to break the opening weekend record recently set by our young wizard friend, Harry Potter, but in the long run, this may turn out to be one of the top grossing movies of all time. Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring is easily one of the best and most entertaining movies of 2001 and will be a classic for years to come.
The Fellowship of the Ring is not only a film for die-hard Tolkien fanatics. I believe it is a genuinely brilliant piece of cinema. The drama is touching, the comedy is hilarious, the evil of the Ring is more chilling than I could ever have imagined it. I doubt I could be much more happy with this film at all.
Peter Jackson is now official Lord of the Moviemakers I spent so much of the movie lost in the joy of it, that I forgot to be a fan. I walked out of that theater in a state of blissful ecstasy that I had not experienced in a long, long time. Thanks to all of the set-designers, artists, dialogue coaches, PJ, and especially the actors/actresses who have made a dream come true.
What this epic leaves me with is a sense of gratitude to all those who worked on the movie, not because it is a fantastic story bought to the big screen and filmed in my home country New Zealand, but because it has been done so well, and in my lifetime, and I get to enjoy it for years to come. Mr. Jackson transported me to Middle Earth and I didn't ever want leave.
The sad thing is, a lot of people are probably going to sit down and just pick it apart, comparing it to the book instead of just enjoying it for the wonderful movie it is. For Tolkien Purists who will pick FOTR the movie to pieces and force themselves not enjoy it purely as a cinematic masterpiece. I bet ANYTHING that even though they will moan and complain and gripe about the changes. It WON"T stop them seeing the NEXT TWO movies, multiple times.

Watch it as a movie and not as a book, and you'll do fine. Go in with an open mind and you'll come out with an open and full heart.