An Excellent Film in its Own Right

Rating: 10/10 (2 January 2002)

I understand that many of the Tolkien faithful may look upon FOTR with utter disdain. I feel sorry for those people who can have such hatred for a thing of such magnificent beauty. Rarely is there a film experience available to us that is so finely crafted as Peter Jackson's 'Fellowship'. And while this film is not flawless, it is about as near perfect as a film can get.
What makes this film so entertaining? That answer will be different for everyone, but for me, it's the wonderful reality that this film has no dull moments, no empty spaces -- WHATSOEVER. There's always a beatiful landscape, some witty dialog, a little dash of humor or some serious action to keep us -- well, just plain excited. I've viewed the film three times as of the date of this writing, and I can say that it has lost none of its luster. It truly lives up to (or exceeds) the hype (at least the hype that existed in my own mind), and also to my expectations.
Here comes the bad part, but unlike other people, I'll attempt to keep myself objective. The main complaint that I have with the film is this: the fight scenes, while visually stunning, have some choppy editing. In other words, the fights are more like Braveheart and less like Gladiator or, say, The Phantom Menace. I felt that the film could've given us breathtaking shots of orcish ass-kickings, and it just fell short. They end up oftentimes being confusing, and too "up close and personal", failing to give you a sense of the overall battle going on. I speak specifically about the final battle; Moria, in my opinion, was a little better, but still insufficient. We really don't get a sense of the battle prowess of Gandalf either. These are the types of things I feel Peter Jackson could've taken advantage of, yet for some reason or another, did not. However, the fight scenes are, ultimately, good enough and accomplish their goal.
The only other problem, in my opinion, is that some of the computer generated shots were obvious. This, I believe, could've been avoided to some extent. It's obvious that inordinate amounts of time were spent on the balrog (which looked unbelievably good, by the way), while less time was spent making the human CGI a little more fluid and lifelike. This is a minor beef though, perhaps miniscule would be better placed here than minor.

Back to the good side. The casting was-without a doubt-perfect. You will notice that even the most ludicrous of nay-sayers will not even come close to using the word "miscast". Most of the actors seem to literally become their respective character, and those that don't still do an excellent job. Ian McKellen deserves an Oscar, and I will say that about few actors, especially this year. The special effects are excellent on the whole as well, easily rivaling ILM's latest achievements. The scenery and cinematography are also excellent. Not enough can be said about scenery, FOTR is quite possibly the most amazing indirect travel brochure New Zealand will ever see.
I agree with every single change Peter Jackson & Co. made to this film. The omissions make sense, the film is already bordering epic length, all the while not skipping a beat. Tom Bombadil would've been nice, but PJ just didn't have enough screen time to work with. Arwen is a female character that needs developing early on, since there aren't a lot of female characters in the film and we need a romantic sub-plot. It brings a more "human" feel to the supernatural goings-on. Every extra moment PJ spent on making us feel the "weight" of the wring on both Frodo and the Fellowship were well spent.
Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring is a masterpiece. A film that literally has it all. It is unique, and engulfing; a perfect balance of all the elements that make movies great. Ultimately, as this movie is viewed more by the public, we will understand better just how wonderful it really is. A film that is greater than the sum of its parts. Pure cinematic magic.
A+ (10/10)
-Adam Boyd