Inspired and Beautiful

Rating: 10/10 (18 December 2001)

Peter Jackson rises to inspired heights with his first entry to Lord Of The Rings. It's a masterful work that evokes the same kind of feelings you had the first time you saw Star Wars or Raiders of The Lost Ark. A fantasy that takes on a life of it's own. Jackson crafts a strong theme of self sacrifice throughout, binding the Fellowship together with a simple emotional glue, often missing in fantasy films made after the Lucas/Speilberg golden years. The theme works so well infact, that it plays out amongst the characters like a conversation between old friends. A conversation you will be sorry to see finish. Powerful and full bodied film-making keep the occasional lack of back story and plot holes from diminishing what is without doubt the most important film of the last twenty years.