A great film

Rating: 8/10 (17 December 2002)

I've been a Tolkien fan for thirty years, having worn out a couple of copies of each of the books. One regret is that Jackson chose not to make The Hobbit first...it would have been fun to follow Bilbo to the Lonely Mountain to see Smaug and learn more in-depth about the Ring. Alas, he didn't...however, he did a great job with the Fellowship of the Ring! The production is grand in both scale and execution. The SFX are, for the most part, very good. Makeup and costuming for the host of Orcs and the Uruk-Hai, is fantastic. The location (New Zealand) was superb and the cinematography is first-rate. The film varies from the book a little, to it's (slight) detriment, I believe. The theatrical version leaves Tom Bombadil out completely, skips Gimli's infatuation with Galadriel and Galadriels gifts to the Fellowship members, some of which are important later. The extended DVD version puts some of that back in plus other interesting stuff. There is some other material that had to be omitted simply to keep the film to a manageable length. However, the remainder of the film is a fantastic achievement, fairly true to the book, that ended all too soon. I am anxiously awaiting The Two Towers! I've heard that the second chapter of the trilogy is even more grand than the first. I can't wait!