A truly exceptional film

Rating: 10/10 (28 February 2006)

There is very little that can be said about The Lord of the Rings that hasn't been said already many times over. But what can be re-iterated is that The Fellowship of the Ring is an outstanding piece of film-making.
Where do you start when reviewing a film the size of Lord of the Rings? J.R.R. Tolkein's seminal masterwork, long considered unfilmable, has made it on to the screen thanks to visionary director Peter Jackson. The Fellowship of the Ring is the first of the three books of the trilogy. Everyone has their favourite of the three, and this one is probably mine. Unrivalled in its size and scale by virtually any other film, with new groundbreaking special and digital effects, a stunning musical score, universally superb acting and most importantly a superb story.
The Fellowship of the Ring is the first part of the epic trilogy that tells of the quest of a hobbit to destroy an evil ring of power. He is aided in his quest by his friends and other companions who accompany him and protect him on his journey. Many threats face him on his long journey, both from the world around him and from his companions, who could be tempted by the power of the ring he has set out to destroy. It is a tale of magic and fantasy, swords and sorcery, but it is not simply for teens who enjoy dungeons and dragons games. It is accessible to everyone. By turns exciting, frightening, funny and sad, it is a true masterpiece in terms of storytelling, encompassing the full spectrum of emotions.
The acting is superb from the entire cast, and it is unfathomable as to how the Academy overlooked the acting entirely for all three films when dishing out awards and nominations. However the performances from Ian McKellan, Viggo Mortensen, Sean Astin, Elijah Wood and Sean Bean are all so good it would have possibly been greatly unfair to single any one out for an award.
The film also contains some groundbreaking computer-generated special effects, and some positively genius scale work. Due to hobbits being only about 3 feet tall, some clever scale work was needed in order to ensure that John Rhys-Davies, a dwarf in the film but over 6 feet tall in real life, did in fact look the height of a dwarf. This was done through clever use of forced perspectives, scale doubles, giant sets and blue screen filming. However, the most impressive use of computer effects lies later in the trilogy, with the appearance of Gollum  cinema's first live-action character who is completely computer generated. The music is also beautiful, and Howard Shore has created possibly the most iconic and memorable score since John Williams' Star Wars.
Peter Jackson has, until Lord of the Rings, been seen as a director outside of the mainstream, but his superb, career-defining work on the Lord of the Rings trilogy has seen him well and truly propelled him to the forefront of Hollywood. He has re-defined the epic film with unparalleled success, and created films that will definitely stand the test of time, to one day be thought of with the same reverence as the Star Wars and Godfather trilogies.
A major milestone in cinema history, the trilogy would eventually gain seventeen Oscars between the three films. Lord of the Rings is a master class in storytelling, and essential viewing.