An excellent achievement and magical movie

Rating: 9/10 (22 December 2001)

LOTR: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING
Growing up in a non-English speaking country, I had only first heard of 'Lord of the Rings' during my tertiary studies overseas. A Malaysian good friend of mine told me how good the books were, but I never really got to know what the story was. That is until I came to New Zealand and had some local friends who enthusiastically filled me in with the main plots of the books. Only then I realized how great Tolkien's imagination was and how his writings had influenced our modern conception of sword and sorcery tales.
Having seen the movie and becoming more familiar with the detailed narration of Tolkien's masterpiece and symbolism, I realized that his story had been adapted into many books, games, films and toys around the world. From US's Dungeons & Dragon to Japan's Record of Lodoss War, LOTR is definitely the prime source material. And as such, the world described by Tolkien is richer, with superior story-telling and grandeur in scope. Director Peter Jackson with his excellent cast and crew and New Line Cinema backing, had done justice to the first chapter of the books. The Fellowship of the Ring itself is a loyal movie adaptation of the books, which I understand are great achievements in the English literary world.
One of the most important instrinsic aspects of the movie is the beautiful terrains of Tolkien's world, transformed vividly into celluloid, courtesy of the beautiful and diverse New Zealand's topography. Credits must also go to those hundreds of New Zealand Army members who joined the movie as Orcs and Goblin warriors. I also liked how the each characters from the books, were brought to life by such great performances. While wacthing the movie, I can see that the movie staff had selected thespians who would embody the essences of the protagonists and antagonists, and NOT the other way around as we have seen done in some great but disappointing sci-fi movies lately. Because of this careful selection and respect towards the integrity of the characterization, we are awarded with a well-chosen international cast. Each person brings his/her own charisma and personality that is magically entwines with the others', as the story progresses and takes us from one action to another, rendering a powerful and entertaining fairy tale.
Sean Bean has always been a fav. actor of mine, his portrayal of Boromir is very humane, complete with its strength, despair and sympathy. Elijah Wood's Frodo is sweet and a bit on the wimp side, with a child-like innocence. Merry, Pippin and Samwise characters were performed with genuine care, stereotyped at times but always courageous, and not the regular stupid or useless sidekicks. I guess Mortessen's voice is less charismatic although he definitely has that wild edge and devilishly handsome. My favourite character has to be Legolas, one cool elf-dude, complete with bow&arrows and two short scimitars. He has a remarkable speed, wisdom beyond his age, a sleek and eco-friendly costume and most of all a graceful appearance and manner. When he engages in a battle, he fights elegantly with wit and agility; light as a feather and fast as fury.
It's funny to see Liv Tyler as an elf, because that was my first impression of her when I first saw her in one of those Aerosmith's video clips. Blanchett's Galadriel is another gift, she has always been alluring and elegant in most films, and there is just something sensual about her features. It is a pity that Gimli is not as menacing as he should have been, but nevertheless when he fights, axes are bound to be flying. The digital effects were smartly controlled and used when necessary, so they wouldn't jeopardized the narration, as it did in The Phantom Menace. Lucas take notes!
At the end of this three-hour of pure entertainment and amazement, I was so mesmerized and fulfilled that I give 10 out of 10 for this movie. The movie just delivers, nothing is disappointing. I've heard several people complained that the movie was overlong and boring. Now when I watched the film, half of the audience clapped their hands at the end of the show, while most of the other half walked out with satisfied grins and began to 'wow'. The only person who said how boring it was, was this 5 year old girl who was sitting next to me and couldn't wait for the movie to finish.