I was impressed with the passion and humanity this fantasy is filled with.

Rating: 10/10 (8 January 2002)

Never having read the books, it was with wide-eyed naiveté that I went to see Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. Three hours (that didn't feel anything like three hours) later, I left the theater awestruck and speechless (and anyone who knows me will tell you, that is a rare thing indeed). What I had seen was a movie full of passion, care, and more humanity than I had seen in a long time. The cast was superb and the direction invigorating. LOTR is JRR Tolkien's classic tale of a hobbit named Frodo who inherits a magic ring from his Uncle Bilbo. Gandalf, wizard and friend to both hobbits, discovers the ring's evil history and sends Frodo on a quest to get the ring to a safe haven and ultimately to destroy it. Frodo is wonderfully played by Elijah Wood. Wood, best known for childhood roles like Huck Finn, has really matured as an actor and is perfectly cast as the everyman hero. It is easy to empathize with his plight and to care about what happens to this young hobbit. Ian McKellen is perfectly cast as Gandalf. There is no other actor alive who could have played Gandalf so brilliantly and with as much warmth and caring. Viggo Mortensen as the ranger Strider, Cate Blanchett as the elf sorceress Galadriel, Sean Bean as the easily tempted human Boromir, and Billy Boyd and Dominic Monaghan as hapless hobbits Pippin and Merry are all standouts. Likewise Christopher Lee brought his years of experience to fruition as the evil sorcerer Saruman. Newcomer Orlando Bloom plays Elf bow-man Legolas. Bloom's cat-like movements, mild manner, and lightning like handling of the bow and arrow make Legolas one of the most memorable characters in the film. It is surprising to know this is one of Bloom's first film roles. However, the biggest surprise in the cast was Sean Astin as Frodo's best friend, Samwise Gamgee. Astin has come a long way from the boy who sought treasure in `The Goonies.' Having put 30 pounds on for the role, Astin brings loads of emotion and humanity to an otherwise otherworldly tale. Director Peter Jackson's passion for this material and dedication to Tolkien's work is evident in every frame of this, the first film of the trilogy shot back to back in New Zealand. Nowhere is there a wrong step or missed shot. Jackson uses the camera as another character in the story and therefore draws the audience into the story all the more deeply. LOTR has changed to face of films. The special effects never really look like movie wizardry, thereby allowing the viewer to forget them and just accept them as part of the story. No other fantasy film has been this real and this magical at the same time. And never has a film left me with such a feeling of warmness and caring. The only problem is, how am I ever going to wait till next Christmas for part 2?!?
(In fact my mother was beating me when she found out part 2 won't come out till then. I guess I should have warned her before hand, but I thought she knew!)