Absolutely Magnificent...

Rating: 10/10 (5 March 2002)

The incredible story that began with nothing more than a ring, and led to a fellowship sworn to destroy it before it destroys them, comes to life with Peter Jackson's The Fellowship of the Ring.
I have been a huge fan of Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings ever since I first read the books, and when I heard that the trilogy was being turned into movies, I wasn't sure whether to be excited or disappointed. Most movies tend to bastardize the books they are based on, so I went to the theater in December prepared for a bit of a disappointment. To my surprise, I found it to be excellent.
I happen to be one of those people that, when reading a book like Lord of the Rings, can in my mind's eye picture every little detail as I trace the paths traveled by the characters, from how many clouds are in the sunset sky to the linden trees by the narrow road to the hoofprints left in the dirt by a cantering horse. So I had my own sets already pictured when I entered the theater, and I grimaced at the thought of what they might have used for the movie. But the sets were almost exactly how I had imagined my own to be, from the dark, almost Gothic streets of Bree, to the ethereal, elaborate elvish worlds of Rivendell and Lothlorien, and the towering immensity of Isengard. Almost unbelievable that this was all filmed in only one country.
When I first looked over the names of the cast, the only ones I recognized enough to put a face to were Liv Tyler, Christopher Lee, Elijah Wood, and Hugo Weaving (though it was a little strange to see Weaving without his earpiece from The Matrix). The rest were unfamiliar to me at the time. But I think that having any bigger names, like Braveheart's Mel Gibson or Die Hard's Bruce Willis, would have detracted from the characters that these actors portrayed-when I think of those movies, the first thing that pops into my mind is who is in them, not the stories or the characters or anything else that should be what makes a movie good. But the acting by the cast in Fellowship was superb nonetheless. Elijah Wood's honest, innocent, young features contrast sharply to the ruddier appearance of the other hobbits, and his portrayal of the nobly courageous Frodo is so believable and convincing that the hobbit comes far more to life than I had expected him to in the movie. Liv Tyler brings with her the courage touched with femininity that the books were seriously short of, replacing an elf by the name of Glorfindel who has no other part in the books; this I believe to be a good choice since it gives a beginning to the romance between Arwen and Aragorn that the book only explains in the appendices. Cate Blanchett's performance as Galadriel was as ethereal as I had hoped it would be, and having her explain some of the history of the ring at the beginning of the movie really set the scene. Viggo Mortenson fit Strider/Aragorn incredibly well, and he brought the rugged nobility and royal gallantry of his character to life. The ever-so-loyal-to-the-end Sam Gamgee-my favorite character in the books-is played to bumbling perfection by Sean Astin. Dominic Monaghan and Billy Boyd give a comic edge to their characters, Merry and Pippin, that really portrays the laid-back, almost child-like personality of true hobbits. John Rhys-Davies makes an excellent dwarf in his gruff bravado, and the talented Orlando Bloom looks so natural shooting his bow and arrows in that machine-gun style you would expect of an elf. Sean Bean plays the valorous but struggling part of Boromir extremely well, portraying very believably the torture of one who has held the ring but knows he cannot have it. Christopher Lee commands respect as Saruman, the sage wizard who has been led astray by the deception of the ring. And as for Ian McKellan's performance, there is nothing to say-he, as the great wizard Gandalf, is magnificent beyond words in his role.
But even a movie as stunningly well-done as this cannot be completely without fault. Not only did they leave out the verse about the original rings, but they also cut out Strider's verse (All that is gold does not glitter,/Not all those who wander are lost;/The old that is strong does not wither,/Deep roots are not reached by the frost./From the ashes a fire shall be woken,/A light from shadows shall spring;/Renewed shall be blade that was broken,/The crownless again shall be king.). And then there were (although a minor detail when compared to the rest of the movie) the elven-cloaks from Lothlorien. These I had pictured in my mind as something slightly more elaborate than made of fleece-type-flannel-looking material. And also, they never once referred to the Balrog as 'Durin's Bane' as they did in the book.
But for each of the few things cut that should not have been, there were a score of things done right. The Balrog was impressive for not having much of a physical description in the books to go on, Orthanc was intimidating, and the Uruk-hai invoked the fear that they were meant to. This movie kept me on the edge of my seat for the whole three hours and five minutes (both the first time I saw it and the second) as it was shown to me that even today, great movies can still be found, one without the objectionable material that movies get attention for today, one that places emphasis on loyalty and friendship and sacrifice. It was breath-taking; it was stunning; it was magnificent. It was Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings and awesome in its greatness.
This is one movie that definitely deserves a thirteen-and-a-half out of ten in my book.