An absolutely spectacular film -- 100% Oscar-caliber

Rating: Null/10 (23 December 2001)

J.R.R. Tolkien's classic book series THE LORD OF THE RINGS comes to life in the form of an action-packed thrill ride of a movie. Beginning the popular fantasy trilogy is the current film THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING, about how a rag-tag band of adventurers (whom of which consists of a variety of beings, from human to elf to dwarf, and of course, the Hobbits) go on a perilous quest to destroy what looks like an
innocent ring, which in reality contains special powers originally made for evil. Filled with lush landscape design (check out the snowy mountainsides and the rolling mountains), eye-filling special FX, great costumes by all the characters, hyperkinetic action sequences (especially the near-dizzying swordplay), and of course, great
performances from the whole cast. Elijah Wood displays a very convin- cing portrayal of Frodo, a young Hobbit with a huge burden on his
little back of trying to destroy the powerful ring. Alongside him is Gandalf (played with subtle eloquence by Ian McKellan, in a role that almost went to Sean Connery), the wise old wizard who guides Frodo, much like how Obi-Wan Kenobi advised young Luke Skywalker (if you the reader are as much of a STAR WARS fan as you are of the LOTR would realize the parallels each movie displays), and Aragorn the Strider,
played with neo-Clint Eastwood machismo by Viggo Mortenson. The sole complaint that I have about this film is the movie's length of 3 hours. The discriminating viewer would find his attention span to drift away after sticking it to the screen within that time range. But thanks to
all the great factors I've mentioned above, the little problem with time can be over-looked. LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING is
a definite winner and is bound to win an Academy award. Would it win best picture? I won't be a bit surprised.
Harry Who? :-)