The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring

Rating: 10/10 (26 May 2016)

This film is beautiful not only because of its fantastic action scenes and special effects, but the three dimensional characters that present us with this deeply human story.
The film is about how the people that persevere are not the ones with power, or even physical ability, but the ones who have the will power not to conform. This doesn't mean the heroes of this story are perfect by any means, they all have their flaws. The characters all have a sense of vulnerability, which is important for the tension in the action scenes, but it also shows that they're not perfect and not invincible. We see Frodo taking long periods of time by himself. We see how he is tortured and tempted just like the rest of them, and everyday for him is a struggle. Aragon can't escape the horrible shadow left by his father, who could've destroyed the ring when he had the chance, but decided not to. Gandalf seems wise and powerful at first, but the truth is, he doesn't know everything, and there are other evil ones that have more power than him. Sam is worried and timid. Boromir is also tempted by the ring, and it drives him to nearly kill Frodo. Alright, I could go on and on about all of the characters in the movie and what makes them unique and what drives us to care about them, but the point is, what drives them is their care for one another. It's what gives them the courage to go on and, in many scenes, it's what saves their lives. They're not invincible with each other, but without each other they wouldn't get anywhere. This is reflected in the incredibly tense action scenes, such as the one with the big orc, and the one on the staircase. This is something all of the characters learn by the end of the movie. Sam puts Frodos life above his, and gains courage from their relationship, and Frodo finally realizes that he needs Sam. Alone he would be tortured, but with Sam, it gives him hope.
There is obviously much more that happens in this 3 hour long movie, but every single scene either contributes to plot or character, and the pacing is so good that the film feels like 2 hours. I wish I could get into every reason why this movie is so fantastic but that would take way too much time and too many words, so just watch the movie.