Unlike anything seen before in cinematic history

Rating: 10/10 (6 January 2002)

Peter Jackson's meticulous adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's tome will validate the fealty of acolytes while delighting apprentices with a sense of discovery. Newcomers may also feel just a little dazed and confused. Those who know little of Middle Earth and connect the word Elvish with a feet-of-clay rock-'n'-roll god may on occasion wish for a handy copy of Tolkien for Dummies. The film contains a great deal of new info to sprinkle throughout even a three-hour running time.
Yet, under director Jackson's baton, it all comes together with exhilarating, if occasionally solemn, majesty. The film presents a world of dark enchantment. The Lord of the Rings is not the lark that Harry Potter is. It's filled with sprawling battle scenes that are spectacular in scope but frighteningly intimate in detail. And the mood is largely serious. The saga of the One Ring is a primal battle between righteous good and terrible evil, with only a few gray areas allowed.
At the center of all this hubbub is vertically challenged hobbit Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood), who is somewhat baffled to find himself anointed as the keeper of the One Ring. He must begin an odyssey to keep the ring from falling into the hands of wicked Dark Lord Sauron, who will use it to assure himself world domination. Frodo and his fellowship of dwarves and elves must head straight for Sauron's ominous living quarters and personally watch the ring perish in the fires of Mount Doom.
Along the way, our heroes are attacked by various bats, dragons, and other unsightly beings determined to retrieve the ring for Sauron or use it for their own benefit.
Mr. Jackson's visual flair was flawless in 1994's Heavenly Creatures and 1996's less successful The Frighteners, not to mention 1992's cult horror fave Dead Alive. Many a promising director has been stifled by the responsibilities of big budgets and sprawling logistics, but Mr. Jackson retains his vision. The film's pastoral scenes are ripe with gentle beauty, and the overall color scheme darkens as the mood demands. Like all great adventures, The Lord of the Rings is located in a land of enchantment, and the director and his large crew have an enchanted spirit.
Although the film aims for a different emotional impact than Harry Potter, both ventures share the same structural handicap. Each film's first half superbly establishes the right emotional and physical atmosphere. But their second halves flounder somewhat under the weight of too much plot development. Each scene brings a fresh crisis before audiences have had time to digest the previous one. The ongoing avalanche of plot elements makes the film seem no less (and yet, no more) than its 178-minute length.
Mr. Jackson's Heavenly Creatures provided Kate Winslet with a spellbinding feature debut, while The Frighteners contained one of Michael J. Fox's best performances. Even amid the sound and fury of The Lord of the Rings, he remains an actor-friendly director.
Twenty-year-old Mr. Wood is an appealing, convincing Frodo despite the fact that, with long locks, he bears an uncomfortable resemblance to Winona Ryder. Also, in the Tolkien world, real men do shed tears, and during the film's second half, Mr. Wood's Frodo weeps more copiously than Meryl Streep in Sophie's Choice. Still, it's a performance of depth and growth.
As the wise wizard Gandalf, the renowned Ian McKellen is majestic but not haughty; he's a wizard all hobbits would want as their own. Cate Blanchett's Galadriel possesses equal measures of serenity and urgency. Viggo Mortensen's Aragorn is a brooding and (at least in the movie) love-struck warrior viewers will take to heart. The film expands the character of Arwen to be the object of Aragorn's adoration, and Liv Tyler delivers the proper spirit. The entire project contains no misstep, even if some of the right steps are accomplished in a slightly plodding manner. The Lord of the Rings is a major achievement of mystical spirit and high adventure. For many, it is the film that Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace should have been.
Final Verdict: 9.3/10