Bravo! I give this movie eleven stars out of ten. ;)

Rating: Null/10 (24 March 2003)

Set in the ancient and fabled land called Middle-Earth, this is a tale of epic proportions that was written by the outstanding author, J.R.R. Tolkien. Over four years ago director Peter Jackson decided he was going to make it into a film and got to work with the most amazing cast and crew imaginable. In December of 2001 the first part of this trilogy appeared: The Fellowship of the Ring. In Fellowship we are introduced to Frodo Baggins--an adolescent Hobbit with an eye for knowledge and adventure. His Uncle is Bilbo Baggins, who went on an adventure before Frodo's time and found on that adventure--in the cave of the creature Gollum--a magical ring which turns its wearer invisible. Upon Bilbo's leaving the Shire (the home of the Hobbit-folk) Frodo inherits the ring and learns from the wise wizard, Gandalf the Grey, that the heirloom is in fact the One Ring, forged by the Dark Lord Sauron in the fires of Mount Doom. Gandalf explains that the Ring can only be destroyed in those fires, which rest in the heart of Mordor--the Dark Lord's land of shadow. Frodo bravely accepts the challenge of taking the Ring as far as Rivendell, the safe-haven of the Elves. It is there that Frodo offers to take the Ring to Mordor. The Fellowship is chosen and they set out to complete their task. The story centers around these nine characters and their quests, which in this story are all combined into one quest. The story starts out a little slowly, but when it takes off it goes pretty fast, with the exception of a couple more slow spots. What I have observed from this classic has been completely good. I have not been able to find anything wrong with it, maybe except for the fact that it's really long and when you see it in the theaters and have to go to the bathroom right in the middle! ^^ Seriously, though, I have four reasons why you should see this movie. 1 - The good guys are lovable. In scenes like the Moria conversation between Frodo and Gandalf, or the battle with the Watcher in the Water, you find yourself cheering on their bravery or listening with awe to the sorrows they are going through. You bond with the characters; you feel as though you're on the journey, fighting alongside them. 2 - The bad guys are pure evil. By that I mean, in this movie you are cheering for the bad guys to get totally maimed. There is one fight in which some audiences actually clap when a certain bad guy is killed! I love how it is plain that evil is evil and good is good. It's not like in some movies where you're sad that the bad guy dies because you kind of liked them...or where you're confused because a bad guy seems bad, but then is good and stuff like that. 3 - The quest is legendary. Probably one of the most attracting things about LOTR is the fact that it is a quest to save the world. That sort of thing never seems to get old. It is the sort of tale that has been retold through time. We just love to see a hero--much like us, or not at all--fighting boldly for what he believes...striving to reach something and finally attaining his goal. Perhaps it is because we, like Frodo, have quests of our own to complete. Whatever the reason, we love the quest. 4 - The values are Christian. The Lord of the Rings is most rare because it has morals. There's no sex, no drugs, no obscene language...it's wholesome and clean. Some Christians would argue and say, "Oh, but there's magic! And wizards!" So what? It's a story, a fable, a tale, a myth, a yarn...anything else I can say to emphasize that? Oh yeah; it's not real! Harry Potter takes place in a world that we can get to from our world, LOTR takes place in a world that almost seems to have existed in the past, but obviously didn't. Frodo is a brave lad striving to save the world. Like a real person he loses hope and even we lose faith in him. But he seems to be carried on by a stronger power...