A completely immersive fantasy experience that Tokien's books deserve

Rating: 9/10 (25 November 2012)

J.R.R. Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" is the definitive fantasy series, deserving of the very best adaptation that the movie industry can muster. Ambitiously shooting all three chapters at one time, director Peter Jackson and crew embarked on a filmmaking journey fittingly analogous to Frodo and the Fellowship's quest to return the One Ring to the fires whence it came. In any case, the story, the film and the analogy all deserve highest praise.
The passion that Jackson and crew had for this project shows in every ounce of the this first film, "The Fellowship of the Ring." There's an obvious love of the source material and a fierce commitment to telling the story in the most authentic way possible. It's not only evident in the handling of the script, but also down to the tiny details of the props, costumes and sets. It might be the single greatest example of how tremendous care and effort in terms of production value can impact the rest of a production, even down to the performances.
The production value stars with the glorious New Zealand landscapes serving as Middle Earth. Jackson takes the extra second to show the Fellowship traversing the mountains or just to linger on the skyline. It makes this adventure and this place of pure fantasy feel so totally real, and all fantasy films work when they feel real.
After a prologue explaining how the Rings work and how the One Ring came to be, "Fellowship" begins in a way that will please fans of Tolkien's, focusing on Bilbo Baggins (Ian Holm) and painting a portrait on how the Ring and his entire adventure (as chronicled in "The Hobbit") impacted him, before the attention shifts to his young nephew, Frodo (Elijah Wood), who has no idea the task that he's inherited.
It is the performance of Ian McKellen as the great wizard Gandalf, however, that anchors the beginning of the film. He's the chief example of how the series has cast some of the best and most venerable actors, especially in terms of voice, who lend such power to words that on a page read like silly fantasy speak. We hang on Gandalf's every word, as do all the actors playing the characters he speaks to in each scene. Casting choices in Hugo Weaving and Cate Blanchett in similar roles prove crucial, as they make exposition sound like Shakespeare.
But what all the actors do so well involves the integrity of their characters. Sean Astin, as Frodo's best friend Samwise, commits to fully to the emotions of his scared but fiercely loyal character. We ride the emotional highs and lows of Frodo's journey through Wood's eyes and facial expressions. Everyone remains so committed to their characters that even the underdeveloped ones trigger in us some emotional response. Seemingly unafraid of a long runtime, the film also delves into peripheral characters. Viggo Mortensen's Aragorn gets the majority of subplot attention.
"Fellowship" has a nice flow throughout, with a lot of suspense and foreboding to make up for the lack of bigger action sequences (this is, after all, the first movie). The action picks up after the forming of the Fellowship at Rivendell with the highlight being the sequences in the Mines of Moria, but prior to that, Frodo and the hobbits trying to dodge the Ringwraiths with the help of Aragorn keeps things intense.
But the most brilliant stroke of the adaptation by far is the way both the script and Jackson give the Ring such a powerful and haunting energy. We are teased early and often about its power to tempt and corrupt, and this ends up driving the entire narrative of "Fellowship" as well as guiding most of Jackson's visual choices. He treats the Ring as its own character and has us captivated and troubled by it in equal measure. He captures the Ring from all angles and it wields a cinematic power that perfectly conveys its power in the story.
As the first leg in a long and arduous journey, "Fellowship" asks all the right questions and hits the appropriate thematic notes. Jackson, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens' script doesn't presume our complete emotional investment in the story and instead focuses on themes of strength of character and responsibility. Does Frodo have what it takes to make this journey? Can he trust anyone? He is forced to make some big decisions by the end of this film and we turn inward to assess how we would handle the same predicament.
To some extent we do identify emotionally with the characters in the final third of this film, though Jackson could spare us slow-mo every single time something shocking or emotional happens in the film. It really is the characters who have committed to the emotions of these characters that we have no choice but to accept them as real, and that makes the emotional ending of this one work despite no real conclusion having been reached.
Whether the film's intended catharsis works for you or not, there's no disputing the towering production quality. The visuals of the film are so commanding and engulfing that's there's no escaping a total immersion in this Middle Earth. There are plenty of digital effects being utilized, but the detail and the uniform aesthetic in the costumes, make up and physical sets has no equal. This is the kind of effort and attention deserving of Tolkien's masterful story.