oh my

Rating: 4/10 (26 February 2003)

lord of the rings: the fellowship of the ring, was one of the most entertaining movies of 2001. it was also highly overhyped.
this was a very enjoyable movie, and a very good action movie. of course, being a good action movie, means that it is permissible to overlook mediocre acting, wooden dialogue, stereotyped characters, terrible corny humor, and excessive and sometimes (oftentimes) phony CGI.
first, the acting. i have seen people on this board actually suggest that people such as elijah wood, viggo mortenson, and orlando bloom should be nominated for oscars! now, i will grant that the oscars in no way reward the best performances of the year, but that would be carrying things just a bit too far. of course, it might not be the actors' fault, it could be...
the dialogue. i fail to understand why seemingly all "epic" films, and fellowship of the ring is no exception, have dialogue that is apparently meant to seem completely contrived. almost every line feels as though the characters speaking it has put about ten minutes of thought into it, and this is while running from monsters and creepy-crawlies!
then there are the characters themselves. we have frodo, the humble little guy that everyone roots for. gandalf, the grizzled, wise sage. aragorn, the pragmatic and skilled leader. legolas, the stoic and noble silent one. and boromir, the greedy, unlikeable human. merry and pippin, the goofball, comic relief. the list could go on to include almost every character in the movie, but this review is getting long as it is.
i believe even fans of the movie will concede that much of the attempted humor is corny and often unbearable (especially the dwarf). if you have seen it, you know what i mean; if not, be glad that you have been spared.
and finally what i found to be the biggest flaw: the CGI. there is just far too much! granted that it some instances it was used with splendid effect, and in these cases, i am all for it. however, just to throw out an example off the top of my head, in the scene in moria, there is no need to have various people jumping on the cave troll's back. it just looks fake! it is entirely unnecessary! what is it doing on my screen? much of the CGI could and should have been cut out. it detracts from the movie as its overall effect is to give a very impersonal feel to what should be a personal and moving story.
well that about sums this rant up, so i will leave you with the following advice: if you are in the mood for a solid action/adventure movie, then fellowship of the ring is for you. but, on the other hand, if you have unwisely chosen to accept the opinion of the lord of the ring freaks on this board that this is a quality film and even one of the top 5 of 2001, then you will be sorely disappointed.