It took a Kiwi to make Hollywood look lazy.

Rating: 10/10 (21 December 2001)

Yes, a little-known New Zealand Director with a passion for Fantasy, Horror and movies.
*MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD*
With "The Fellowship of the Ring", we get the definitive Fantasy film, but more than that, something that has never been seen before - a Fantasy film with great performances. All actors simply ARE their characters, McKellen's Gandalf is Obi-Wan, Merlin and Tolkien himself (according to Jackson and McKellen) rolled into one. Frodo, Bilbo and Aragorn come to life, every nuance of their performances adding a kind of depth to Tolkien's characters that makes you feel like you are watching real people, not actor's.
I cannot say enough about how proud Peter Jackson has made New Zealanders. His courage with such a production, and the effortless way he respectfully captures Middle Earth would have surely put a few grins on Tolkien's lips if he had lived to see it. The attention to detail is staggering from Hobbit-hole green doors, to Gimli's bouncing bedroll under his backpack, to the glowing, fiery script engraved on the One Ring - it's all there.
As Jackson co-wrote the script, it puts him in the best possible position to tell the story in three hours without losing any of the book's integrity. In fact, Jackson surpasses the Professor on occasion, adding much-needed depth to the characters of 'Boromir', 'Arwen' and 'Saruman', while giving the audience something they never really get from Tolkien - awesome and intense fight sequences. Tolkien glosses over such details, he is more concerned with describing every pebbly rock formation, every verse of every song, every speech and expositional account, leaving out all the meaty PHYSICAL action. Not so with Jackson, who puts you right there in amongst the fray with a kind of random, unrehearsed feel to the battles without adding the frustrating 'strobing' effect that "Gladiator" used constantly.
And unlike a certain other bearded Trilogy filmmaker, Jackson knows how to get the best out of his actors, letting the camera linger on pained expressions, and twinkling eyes, providing powerful close-ups.
It's masterfully filmed, skillfully written, impeccably acted and stunningly presented. Oh, and the music is pretty darn good too. The fact is, that it's not just the best fantasy film ever made, to leave it there would be an insult to Jackson and his hard-working team. Neither is it just the best film I have seen this year. Jackson has set a new benchmark for 'blockbusters' in general, living up to it's hype and then re-defining it, restoring the hopes of film buffs all over the globe, to send a message to Hollywood that simply says: "It's time to give audiences a reason to go to the movies again."