*****

Rating: 10/10 (4 February 2002)

A masterpiece. The Fellowship of the Ring edges above The Matrix and Star Wars as my favorite movie. Peter Jackson brings the land of Middle Earth to live in a sprawling three part epic in which the fellowship (the hobbits Frodo Baggins, Samwise Gamgee, Meriadoc Brandybuck, Peregrin Took, Legolas the Elf, Gimli the Dwarf, Boromir of Gondor, Gandalf the Wizard and a mysterious stranger called Strider/Aragorn) must embark on a perilous quest to destroy the One Ring. Kudos to Peter Jackson for his acomplishment of bringing J.R.R. Tolkien's masterful book into an unbelievably great movie. Peter Jackson's companies Weta Workshop and Weta Digital do an excellent job in creating the evil orcs and other such creatures and for creating the armor and weapons. Sir Ian McKellen gives a memorable performance as the Wizard Gandalf. From his battle with Saramun the wizard to when he shouts "You shall not pass" to the devillish Balrog, McKellen gives an Oscar-worthy performance. Childish actor Elijah Wood also presents a nice performance as the main character Frodo Baggins. Orlando Bloom kicks major ass as Legolas the Elf and Sean Bean is worthy as the greedy then possesed then nice Boromir. My favorite performance is Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn/Strider. One of FOTR's strong points is its incredible special effects. The CGI effects are very nicley done. There is one thing that will make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up is the singal image of Gollum and his bone chilling voice, "My precious..." FOTR is a very great movie and should be cherished for years to come. ***** out of 5 stars. FOTR