THE best fantasy epic of all time

Rating: 10/10 (13 March 2002)

I hate Star Wars. Granted, I have never seen any of the films, but seeing clips from it during various awards ceremonies and things like that tell me I never want to see any of them, the originals included. I'm also not a big fan of fantasy films, so it was pretty damn daring of me to make that statement in the summary box.
The thing is, The Fellowship of the Ring just REEKS with brilliance. Every single second of the movie is astounding, from the first battlefield scene until the last few scenes. I don't need to watch any other fantasy flicks to know that this is the best.
Now, I'm not a Tolkien reader. I bought "FOTR" after watching the film and watching a National Geographic documentary on his life. I've owned the book for maybe 3 months now, and so far I'm still at page 94, thereabout. But I have seen the movie 3 times. And each time, it just got better. Peter Jackson deserves all the best director awards the industry could ever give for his beautiful masterpiece. How he managed not to get the Golden Globe for Best Director is beyond me. Actually, how anyone can think that this picture is anything but brilliant is beyond me. 3-hours too long? Hell no. 3-hours too short.
I truly hope the Academy awards Mr. Jackson for his great eye for detail, and all-round awesome direction, and I sincerely think this movie is Best Picture material. The acting is also superb. I've always liked Elijah Wood, but I loved him in this. Not only are his eyes beautiful, he is able to speak volumes with them. I don't understand how the Academy and the rest have managed to overlook him for a Best Actor award. Orlando Bloom is devastatingly gorgeous as Legolas. He has captured the hearts of teenaged girls the whole world over, myself included. You can't blame us. Legolas is the perfect man you'd want by your side in times of danger. His movements are agile, like a cat's, and you couldn't tell in the movie that Bloom has taken only 2 (or was it 3?) months of archery classes. My only gripe about the character was that there wasn't much developement in the movie. I hope we'd get to see more of Legolas in the coming two movies, which I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE. Viggo Mortensen was dashingly handsome as Aragorn, Sir Ian McKellan radiated gentleness and his Best Supporting SAG award was well-deserved, and the hobbits were excellent. You simply cannot fault the acting, or any other aspects of this movie. I love everything about the film, from its breath-taking sceneries to the grotesque appearances of the orcs to Howard Shore's beautiful music. EVERYTHING!
The only -- and I truly mean only -- negative thing I have to say about the trilogy is that they're making me wait an entire year for the next part. It's like feeding me a piece of delicious cake and taking the rest away, and then telling me, "You'd get the next bite next year." The cake is lovely, and I want to eat it whole, all at once.
And to anyone who wonders why "FOTR" is best picture material: it draws you in, it makes you care whether the characters lived or died, and it gets under your skin and refuses to leave until the whole movie is over. It stays in your mind when it's over, and you know you want to go back and relive every moment of that wonderful journey you were a part of. Three times.

All hail "The Lord of the Rings".