Great Landmark Cinema, but not flawless and not without its critics.

Rating: 10/10 (27 December 2001)

Peter Jackson and New Line Cinema have delivered what Hollywood' stuggles with mosy: A Massively Hyped, expensive, special effects blackuster that is actually good. There is no doubt that Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring is something special and despite an approximate 8% thumbs down from reviewers, it is a great cinematic achievement. The many aspects of the film each deserve mention and will receive their due in this review. They are: Acting, direction, design, music, effects and finally story.
The most striking thing about the acting is that each actor is perfect suited to their role. Special metion must go to Ian Mckellan as the delightful, strong yet sometimes comedic Gandalf, Elijah Wood as the wide-eyed innocent Frodo Baggins and Sean Bean as the embodiement of human corruption names Boromir. the two most emotional scenes and of course the movies two dramatic climaxes all feature these three actors in full swing.
Peter Jackson has turned the unfimable into a worth while Epic, and of course this film is only one third of the story. The vision required to take the written word of Tolkien and turn it into a motion picture is extraordinay and Peter delivers an almost flawless adaption. The detail the film explores and captures is a sign of the effort he has put in and it is nothing short of an award nomination at the very least.
The design too is also worthy of an award, design being everything from costumes to sets to makeup. They are grand in scale and true to what Tolkien had originally produced for the look of Middle-earth. The very artists Tolkien used to create his pictures were employed by the film to draw most of the conceptual design. Whilst being ever-present and enormous in scale, none of this distracted from the on screen story playing out.
It was not until after the film when the voice of Enya sang out that I realised the film had a score. Sure it wasn't anything like John Williams Star Wars, but a score like that would of spoiled this film. It had no need for grand and recognisable music with most of the key scenes much better in without any music at all. The dramatic and physical action at play here was more than enough to increase tension without any extra music. The best mention I can give John Howe is he succesfulyl created a dark and haunting mood when the film needed it most, and that I believe is the best thing they could of done.
What has received the most mixed reviews is the special effects and quite frankly I don't see what the fuss is all about. It is a movie, not real life and a movie like this needs lots of effects to make it work. Distracting or not you cannot argue they were poor. You can make up your own mind but speaking as a man in the effects industry I don't see how you could bad mouth these effects. The most powerful effect and probably the most misunderstood is the post-production colour treatment the film received. Every scene was deliberately `re-coloured' in an attempt to give the film that other-world effect. This adds a distinct feel to each location and at times creates extra emotional effects on screen.
Finally the story which can be broken up into 6 basic parts: The Beginning, the Ringwraiths, Rivendell, Caradhras/Moria, Lorien and Amon Hen. The beginning was simply put was superb despite the fact I would of enjoyed a longer Battle that appeared to be a victim of time in an already long film. The Shire is perfect, the acting perfect and the story is clearly developed from the very first frame. In my opinion there is no better beginning a film maker could hope for.
The Ringwraiths which covers everything from the East Road until the Ford appears to be the section suffering most from cut scenes. I know there are more scenes coming for the DVD and to me this section is slightly dis-jointed and plays out a little too fast. Once again a victim of time. None the less the Ringwraiths themselves are very terrifying and succesfully create tension all by themselves. The movie then slows down a bit as we hit Rivendell which is clearly the most beautiful mocation in the film. The love story recieves its due here and despite is lack of screen time it still manages a small tear. The Fellowship is formed in a wonderul scene featuring a tormented Frodo and the story is set on a pedastal ready for the beating.
We then move to Caradhras and Moria which contain the central action of the story. Whilst I have some qualms about the editing during the Caradhras sequnce it is still none the less a joy to watch. Moria however suffers from no flaw. A perfect ride through the dwarven mines pursued by ugly Orces, An amazing Troll, and the awesome Balrog. This scene alone is a great reason to watch the film.
Next to Lorien which is the most heavily cut sequence in the film. Several shots from the trailers are not here and the book is far longer than the movie with regards to this section. The essence is kept and whilst short is still effective. You could argue it is the most uneceesary scene in the film and should be cut but for fans of the book it is quite a treat. Perhaps the best purpose this scene serves is as another break before the final action arrives. Finally then to Amon hen and the most powerful scenes in the film. Without spoiling anything it you are not in tears by the end you have missed the point of the film. Frodo standing at the river edge, ring is hand in tears has to be the most powerful single shot of the entire epic.
All in all this film is well worth seeing and is nothing short of amazing. It does have its critics, but I am yet to here a good enough argument as to why this movie is not good. This film deserves a place amongst the best of all time and is definately now my favourite. I ask you to see it and make up your own mind, but at least go in with an open mind...