Maybe this Movie is Overrated...

Rating: Null/10 (2 January 2002)

I went to see this movie with high expectations. I had never read the book, and therefore, I was not worried about watching the movie with any book bias gnawing at my mind. I had skimmed through several reviews prior to seeing the film, not one of the reviews, had said anything significant to detract from the film's incessant buzz. It seemed as though this movie might single-handedly counteract what has been a disappointing year at the movies.
Maybe, like so many my age, I carry with me the bias of the indomitable Star Wars trilogy in my mind. Maybe, the movies this year have been so bad that critics have forgotten what a truly good movie is and should be. Maybe, the book provides too much story for the world of film. Maybe, I need to go see the movie again before I am so critical of the film. Or maybe, I have forgotten what it feels like to watch a movie for the pure enjoyment of it, because so many movies suck these days. No matter, while the Fellowship of the Ring does much in the way of special effects, set design, and Sir Ian McKellan's career, it fails on so many other levels, namely, I did not give a rat's a**e about what happened to the characters.
There are just too many characters to get to know in this movie. There isn't enough time to get to know them. When the end of this movie finally arrived, it felt abrupt and incomplete. Excluding Mr. Sir Ian McKellen, the characters were no more complex than characters in a porno.
Sir Ian McKellen is masterful and commanding in his portrayal of Gandalf the Wizard. He alone is the movie's saving grace. Is it surprising that, with the exclusion of Frodo, he is given the most screen time and thus we care more for his character's fate. Unfortunately, where he succeeds, the other characters fail miserably. Elijah Wood plays Frodo with the depth and reaction of a smiling deer-in-headlights. He is vacuous and boring. Viggo Mortenson, though he certainly has the chin structure to be a swordsman and reluctant king, comes across as a flat character among many paper dolls. Liv Tyler's character, I couldn't even understand the name, appeared so quickly, during a chase scene no less and an inexplicable love scene, that her only noticeable attribute was the ability to speak Elvish or Elvin or whatever. This years Jar-Jar Binks clones were played by Frodo's annoying buddies, Rudy, Merry and Pippin. I understand they were intended to be bumbling fellows, but they come across as just plain stupid. The other Fellowship members were no more than guys with different weapons and costumes. Who cares if they're good fighters. If we don't know them, we don't care.
I won't go on. I don't know if I've really made any point, other than to say that this movie has been overrated by fans and critics alike. I guess moviegoers have become bleary-eyed by an increasing succession of s***ty movies. Yes, amazing settings were created for the screen, but the inhabitants never breathed life into their world. Ultimately, you can only love a movie when you actually care about the characters, whether they are good or bad guys, who make up that movie. One more thing, the score sucked too. I've heard more rousing music in a nursing home elevator.