The masterpiece finally won me over and although I won't claim 'greatest film' it is truly brilliant

Rating: 9/10 (25 August 2007)

It was years ago that I saw the Lord of The Rings trilogy one at a time in the theater because even then they were created a massive historical stir and I don't remember exactly why but I just wasn't taken by them. Perhaps it was the hype? So I finally got around to watching Fellowship of The Ring in order to give it a proper review and I turn away all previous opinions and I bow to the authority of the famous Lord Of The Rings: Fellowship of The Ring. Number 20 in the all time highest grossing world wide films and voted #17 of the best films of all time on IMDb. Would I bestow the same honor on it? I certainly respect it's place in film history and I completely understand people's love for it and I loved it as well and now appreciate it even more although I won't utter perfection quiet yet. Fellowship of The Ring still clocks in at an unapologetic 3 hours and often feels like it's running long but at the same time I understand why director Peter Jackson had to have this freedom. He was translating one of the most beloved and enormous fantasy novels in the history of literature and the most amazing thing is he pulled it off. He managed to keep the story perfectly in tact, create all these brilliant characters and create this world with special effects and cinematography unlike anything the film world has ever seen. Fortunately the enormous budget helped but certainly his creation paid off.
I wish I could go into detail with the cast because they are as brilliant a casting job as any ensemble cast. The highlighted actors who do an incredible job creating their characters are Sean Astin, Orlando Bloom, Christopher Lee, the amazing Ian McKellen (who is one of the truly stand out roles as the amazing and beloved Gandalf the Grey, Viggo Mortensen, John Rhys-Davies, Hugo Weaving, Elijah Wood (in his career making performance as the emotionally distraught and powerful young hero Frodo Baggins--also one of the films great performances), Ian Mune, Billy Boyd and I could truly go on about each and every one of them. Although I think one of the small problems with The Fellowship of the Ring is also completely unavoidable at the same time. This film redefines the word epic. This IS EPIC!! The battles and the story and the journey and the intense and amazing scenery and something has to be lax when it comes to all this and I think the character depth is one of them. I mean Jackson does a terrific job of making sure we become entwined with these characters but they don't get as much attention as you might think and in doing that some of the actors might not get to really perform to their full extent. The exception to this rule is the two performances I pointed out in my breakdown by Ian McKellen and Elijah Wood who are at the forefront of the film. The rest of the cast support them and they give them enough life for movie goers to love their favorite character. Out of 13 Academy Award Nominations only one was for acting and it was for Sir Ian McKellen.
Fellowship Of The Ring is absolutely a stepping stone to probably one of the most remarkable and renowned film trilogies in movie history topping even Star Wars in most people's minds. There is no doubt something truly brilliant about this creation and it's a fantasy world that will undoubtedly ever be matched. I suppose I am being harsh and speaking blasphemy by not giving Fellowship Of The Ring a perfect score but it just wasn't quite there for me but I can't wait to re-watch the rest of the trilogy because I have no doubt my love for the series will grow exponentially. Fellowship of The Ring was meant to be an introduction and there is (as many have made fun of) A LOT of walking and adventuring. Still this film absolutely must be seen by anyone who loves fantasy or science fiction or literary turned to film because this is an example of someone (Peter Jackson) who truly put his heart and soul into it and made something incredible. A true classic and an epic of the largest proportions. 9/10