A fantastic epic with no equal - but tragically Kid-friendly too

Rating: 7/10 (9 January 2002)

Kind of like an experience rather than a movie - "epic" permeates this entire film - and the feeling of wonder stays with you long after leaving the cinema.
The casting is perfect - everyone is exactly right for their characters - Gandalf has all the poise and power you'd expect - Elijah Wood is a wide eyed revelation - the Orcs.. Well they're not at as charismatic as they were in the cartoon version - but then again - the film is only book 1 so by the time it ends the quest is only just getting underway. Big assed, big headed dudes with dreads, big gums and little teeth. I guess I'll have to see how they fare in full scale scenes of slaughter in the next movie though - before I can comment on whether Jackson orcs are as good as Bakshi ones.
The most interesting emphasis is the power of the ring itself- and this icon of dangerous temptation really crystallises the whole quest into a sustainable narrative drive over the relatively short 3 hour running time. There is always an impressive sense of urgency, which motivates the characters - a believable through line of action that modern films have long forgotten. (eg Any horror film of the last 18 years - If there's a monster killing people - why isn't everyone acting scared when they deliver their lines - instead of just lamely posturing and making "Halloween" references? shows how good a director of actors Jackson is.)

The action scenes needed to last longer I thought. I'm a fan of Peter Jackson - he is a master of the amusingly violent black comedy action sequence. A lot has been mentioned about the lack of time devoted to character development, but I'd argue that consumes the most screen time by far. When the action does kick in though, the monsters are generally good -the fights with bows are excellent - computer graphic arrows really kick ass: even better than Crow out of Hawk the slayer - and the skirmish at the end at least has some dramatic impact, but I'd have liked to have seen more comedy amputations in line with the splatter of his other work.

I think there's a bit of pandering going on to the 8yr olds of this world by the studio (Or rather the deep pockets of their parents) which makes me almost rabid with anger. (No one STAYS 8 yrs old for gods sake! They'd get to see it later anyway) Film is more important than an age demographic, and the resulting dilution of adult content that occurs. I am a grown up, and my tastes largely differ from that of an 8yr old - why then should I have to accept their standards?
Justification for violent sequences:
You have a commendably realistic film in every other sense, and then you have battles where burly enemies are felled by a slap with the flat of a blade: nothing rams the artifice of film making home worse as a noticeably unrealistic fight scene. If you fight with a sword - bits of your opponent come off - It's a simple fact. Yet it hardly happens here. I'm hoping that they get the black blood bags out for the second movie and plump for a more exciting film, rather than sucking up to film censors and delivering a children's movie from an adults book (Jackson should do an adult version of the Hobbit after this - with Goblins being hacked into chum - to redress the imbalance of putting in kiddie-safe fight scenes in Lord of the Rings)
Maybe the revenue generated will release some of the pressure on Jackson in terms of contractually delivering commercial diluted violence for the next two movies, and let him put out the best films possible. If Braveheart could achieve it - an unrealistic film in every other sense - then why not this! I realise New Line cinema stress they have taken a huge gamble in making such an ambitious project - but with source material so good and Jackson at the helm - there was never any doubt that it would be a success
Gripe over. fight scenes are entertaining enough - particularly the Mines of Moria sequences, and I'm sure I'll forget my initial disappointment
Overall though, it's a stunningly impressive achievement. jackson keeps it moving briskly and even manages to wring pathos and melodrama from the impressive cast. Plenty of weepiness to cater for the ladies, just enough fighting, hacking and arrows zinging around like gunfire, to satisfy the action fans. jackson has tried to keep everyone happy - from the moron in the street who goes to the cinema because he's programmed to, to the English Scholar who knows the books by heart
Much has been made of the FX - nothing special in this day of CGI proliferation - almost as good as ILM - especially since so much of it is virtual scenery and compositing, ILM's speciality.
The film starts with a cracking fight sequence, and ends on a bit of a downer (I know what's coming next though and the prospect of seeing entire warring armies is extremely enticing) and in between there's just under three hours of the kind of film making that is a delight to watch - it's imaginative, exciting, epic and inspiring. Just what a fantasy film should be.
another 10/10

As an afterthought - It's a far less laughable statement than suggesting some cack like "The Godfather" is number 1 film ever. Surely every cinema goer knows Star Wars (the 1977 film) is the best - it re-invented the motion picture as we know it and it's story is distilled from every archetype known to man - it's no longer my own favourite film - but it's easily the best film ever made. No other film will (or can) ever have such impact again. Ever.