Take Notes, Kids. This Is What Ambition Looks Like.

Rating: 10/10 (29 December 2001)

Ever since "Braveheart" came out, the rebirth of the Epic Motion Picture has made its way to the silver screen. Movies like "Titanic," "Pearl Harbor," "Gladiator," and even "The Mummy Returns" try to imitate the vast scope of movies like William Wyler's "Ben-Hur," D.W. Griffith's "Birth of a Nation," and both of Cecil B. DeMille's versions of "The Ten Commandments." Wyler, Griffith and DeMille are considered the architects of the Epic. The spirits of these men, and even James Cameron, Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, and Ridley Scott must make way for the Epic's new all-time master: Peter Jackson.
"The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" is the best movie I have seen in recent memory. Some may hate this film: People who have been mired in motion picture realism and don't take to epics very well. Normally I would be venomous and outraged that some people would dare attack a movie of such scope and depth, but in this instance, I don't care. The delicate yet masterful direction of J.R.R. Tolkien's classic novel has elevated me into the ether, and all is at peace. It's that good.
Never have I seen an event film that could be so minute, and yet so massive. Take into consideration the battle scenes of the evil orcs against the men and elves. When you see a "Star Wars" picture, ships whiz in and out of the frame, shooting laser beams. They're here and they're gone, leaving no lasting impression. But in Peter Jackson's film, (And I don't know how he does it.) each of these tiny, computer generated figures has a life of it's own. They struck me as characters who had travelled great distances to engage in a war, and had either been cut down, or had risen victorious.
The main actors achieve a delicate feat. The line between the actors and the characters blur, and they're so good that they're practically invisible. There is no force in Ian McKellen's raised eyebrows, Christopher Lee's evil sneer, or Sean Bean's descent into madness. It is all natural, and always stunning. Did these actors know they were creating icons?
The action feels spontaneous instead of being locked into some kind of plot structure where the movie stops for an action scene and then resumes. Everything is in a nice leisurely flow, and requires attention to be paid. Never does this movie pander, or have low expectations of its audience.

Peter Jackson is a director out of New Zealand who has made cheapie horror movies like "Bad Taste" and "Braindead." He has made an Academy Award nominated art film ("Heavenly Creatures") and has had one previous Hollywood effort ("The Frighteners"). While watching these films, I always wondered what he would make if given a real budget, and how it would look. Now I know. Mr. Jackson has shown me places that have eluded me in my wildest dreams, and creatures that dwell in the inkiest corners of my darkest nightmares.
This reminds me of something that Whoopi Goldberg once said: "Movies have to be big, because if they're not big, they're television." And "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" sure as hell ain't television.
**** out of 4