Majestic

Rating: 10/10 (28 April 2010)

As a teenager in the 60s I loved Lord Of The Rings. As years went by I still had a strong affection for it, but I saw more clearly what, to me, were flaws. For instance, the set-piece battle with the Balrog ran to two pages, the Tom Bombadil episode, during which practically nothing nothing of any consequence happened, ran to more than 20! I was always one for story more than texture, as a result of which I began to feel that Tolkien had been in desperate need of an editor who would have helped him strip a flabby 1,100 page book down to a pacey, punchy 500 or so (I'm not keen on reading poems in Elvish, but I appreciate that this is my point of view, not necessarily others').
So I went to see part 1 of Jackson's epic adaptation with enthusiasm and trepidation in equal measure.
I heartily endorse every editorial decision made by Jackson. Tom Bombadil - gone! As a result, despite 3 hours of running time, part 1 never flags. The story moves constantly with plenty (but not too much) of character set up, back story, and narrative drive.
Part 1 deals with the history of the Ring and the beginning of Frodo's journey, to Rivendell in the company of his follow Hobbit and then Aragorn, then through the mines of Moria with the Fellowship, and finally from Lothlorien up to the point where the Fellowship is split apart by an orc attack and Boromir dies.
The casting is just absolutely right - every part is perfectly cast. New Zealand, as assisted by CGI tweaks, is Middle Earth. And the pace of the film is also perfect, alternating between excitement, humour, edge of your seat suspense, and interest-filled exposition.
Brilliant.