The Best Film Of The New Millennium (So Far...)

Rating: 10/10 (21 October 2002)

Look...Don't listen to the stodgy critics and the disgruntled loser fan boys: this is a great and beautiful work of art. The sheer magnitude and scope of the movie alone is astonishing. A lot of people out there fail to grasp the concept that literature and film are two radically different forms of entertainment (mind you, I emphasize entertainment). Just because the film version of a book does not have certain parts in it or a few characters have been altered for pacing sake, doesn't mean that it's not a worthy adaptation. Comparing a book and a movie is like comparing the Peloponnesian Wars with the War On Drugs. Why would you want to? ...Exactly. The fact of the matter is that I seriously doubt a better film version of Fellowship could ever be made. The very spirit of the book - adventuresome and epic but human and personal at the same time - has been captured excitingly in Peter Jackson's film. I'm not even going to waste my time with explaining the plot or characters because those are by now a foregone conclusion. Every single performance in this film is top notch. I didn't notice a bad line delivery or breaking of character nor "phoning in of lines" at all. 3 hours of epic fun is really what this is. I repeat the word epic because this is the best word to describe the film. Epic. It is the definition of the word.
Never before has there EVER been a film that has captured the essence of the fantasy epic like this one; and judging by this first chapter, the entire trilogy will be a towering achievement in the least. Legend? Nope. Willow? Nah. Krull? Please. Dragonslayer? Nice Try. The classic Sinbad films and Clash Of The Titans are the only ones that even come close to touching this baby in the greatness department. But there's no stop motion animation here folks. The effects, the scenery and the actors all blend together to create a fantastic world of grandeur and excitement. Not once while watching did I say "that looks so fake" or "he's not right for the part" or even "this is too long, is it over yet?" A movie like this needs to be AT LEAST 3 hours to tell a coherent story and to get the essence of the book nailed down. That's where Bakshi's animated 2-hour effort from the 70's Tolkien revival failed. Sure, there are a few things that keep Jackson's movie from being 'perfect' - sometimes the pacing seems a little repetitious and there are a few moments that ordinary viewers who are not fans of the book might be confused with. But these are so minor compared to the rest of the film that they're hardly noticeable. BOTTOM LINE: This is simply bliss for any fantasy/action/epic fan or even the casual moviegoer looking for a grand ol' yarn to settle down to. The best movie of the new millennium by far (I know, it's only been a few years, but this film will undoubtedly stand the test of time) and an instant classic. See it. Rent it. Buy it. Watch it. Again. And Again. And Again. It'll never be enough. It has an insanely high re-watch value. And that, my friends, is priceless in the movie world.