World Plan Triumph

Rating: 10/10 (28 December 2001)

Peter Jackson and team rise to the challenge of adapting Tolkien's epic trilogy to the screen and they succeed magnificently. It is entirely possible that this film could only have been made, or at least only have been made as well as it has turned out, in New Zealand. Consider the advantages: cheap currency and labour costs, English speaking well-educated workforce with a strong work ethic, superb scenery and favourable climate. Add to this Jackson's obsession with getting the details right and we have all the ingredients for a triumph.
This could have been a pig's ear of a film. Imagine if George Lucas had got hold of it! Fortunately, the important bits of Tolkien's story have been selected and correctly emphasised. Middle Earth is a land in terminal decline, a shadow of its former glory, and it's a seriously terrifying place. Jackson shows us all of this, the landscape dotted with ruins, the most magnificent of these the underground city of Moria. And it is populated with frightening hazards, the goblins, orcs, uruks and other fell creatures superbly realised.
Tolkien tragics might criticise this film for not adhering strictly to the text. What needs to be remembered is that the Lord of the Rings trilogy in text form is essentially unfilmable. Tolkien's dialogue is longwinded, his poetry is lamentable and he cannot write female characters. What Tolkien did give us was the complete creation of a mythical world, with brief and often indirect descriptions of momentous events. Jackson has distilled the best of Tolkien's creation, preserved the emotional core of the story, extracted authentic performances from the entire cast (Elijah Wood is the standout, but everyone does well) and coupled this with magnificent production design, dizzying cinematography and excellent special effects. The other great triumph of this film is that it looks real, even hyperreal, down to the actors' stubby, filthy fingernails and gashed knuckles. It is this convincing realism that makes this film stand out from so many other fantasy films (including the "Star Wars" series). Bring on parts 2 & 3!