An Excellent Companion to an Excellent Book!

Rating: 10/10 (20 December 2001)

I think it was in October that I decided I wanted to read the first book in the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, by J.R.R. Tolkein. I became enthralled in the story and was very excited to see the movie. Even after having incredibly high expectations, I was not disappointed. This movie truly delivered, and is the perfect companion to the book.
Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood), a little hobbit who lives in the Shire in Middle-Earth, has just received a seemingly harmless gift from his uncle, Bilbo (Ian Holm): a simple gold ring. Frodo soon discovers from his friend Gandalf (Sir Ian McKellan) that this is no simple ring. It happens to be the one ruling ring, over all other powerful rings, that once belonged to the evil Sauron. Now Sauron is trying to find his ring, which will give him power over everything, and the ring is trying to find Sauron. The only way to keep this most terrible thing from happening, is for the ring to be cast into the fires of Mount Doom from whence it came. And it seems our dear Frodo will have to lead the way to Mount Doom, in the heart of Mordor where Sauron resides.
To help Frodo along on his journey is a fellowship: the heroic ranger Strider (Viggo Mortensen), his hobbit friends Sam (Sean Astin), Merry (Dominic Monaghan), and Pippin (Billy Boyd), the emotionally tortured Boromir (Sean Bean), the wize wizard Gandalf, Legolas the elf (Orlando Bloom), and Gimli the dwarf (John Rhys-Davies). They will form a bond as they travel towards Mordor, passing through breathtaking lands, like Lothlorien, and unspeakable terrors, like the Mines of Moria.
Considering I finished the book the day before I saw the movie, I knew every tiny discrepancy between the two. And, I must say that every discrepancy was called for. There is absolutely no way the movie could have followed the book exactly--it would have been 10 hours long. Omitting characters from the movie that were in the book--Glorfindel, Tom Bombadil--did not take too much away from the actual story. However, I do feel that it is so important to read the book before going to see the movie. Then, when the fellowship visits exotic lands, like Rivendell or Lothlorien, the moviegoer knows the history of the lands and what makes these lands so special. I would also recommend to anyone who has read the books to see the movie. It gives an excellent visual for Middle-earth, and helps personify the characters, who were by the way perfectly cast! In my opinion, the movie and the book are companions and one should not be seen or read without the other being seen or read. It makes the whole experience much richer.
I will have to agree with everyone who has commented about the wonderfulness of Ian McKellan as Gandalf. He was Gandalf--it's as simple as that. Wood did an excellent job as Frodo, having no problems portraying the inner turmoil that he feels when the ring takes him over, but also showing the innocence and naivity in the hobbit. The special effects crew did an excellent job with the height differences; the shortness of the hobbits never bothered me, although I found their feet really gross. I was most impressed with Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn (aka Strider). It's probably becaused I admired his noble, loyal character in the book, but I just fell in love with him. Everyone should have an Aragorn to look after him or her.
One of the only characters that I wasn't impressed with in the movie was Elrond (Hugo Weaving). I guess I just had a mental image of Elrond being this truly wise and wonderful elf, who really wanted to help Frodo find a solution. In the movie, I thought he just came off as a jerk, demanding that Frodo get the ring out of Rivendell as fast as possible. Other than this, I absolutely adored this movie and can't wait for the next installment. Congratulations Peter Jackson! You've created a masterpiece.