A Generally Excellent Film

Rating: 9/10 (7 April 2002)

While perhaps not the best movie of the year, and certainly inferior to Peter Jackson's earlier film, Heavenly Creatures, The Fellowship of the Ring is nevertheless an impressive film. I have met very few people who find it perfect, but I also don't know anyone who actually claimed to dislike it. For the most part, its virtues are hard to deny. The spectacular set pieces such as the pursuit of Arwen and Frodo by the Nine Riders or the concluding battle between Boromir and Sauruman's orcs are such that very few viewers could remain unmoved. I find it difficult to explain why, despite these scenes, I did not like the film more. I only know that the friends and family members with whom I have discussed it share my feelings to one extent or another. Perhaps Tolkien's book should not have been made into a film. Even so, it is worth seeing for the spectacular visuals alone.