FUNNY, SHE DOESN'T LOOK ELVISH

Rating: Null/10 (20 December 2001)

THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RINGS (2001) **** Elijah Wood, Sir Ian McKellen, Viggo Mortensen, Sean Bean, Sean Astin, John-Rhys-Davies, Liv Tyler, Cate Blanchett, Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan, Orlando Bloo, Christopher Lee, Hugo Weaving, Ian Holm, Andy Serkis. Grand taskmaster filmmaker Peter Jackson's immense undertaking of the epic cult novel  the first of a franchise trilogy shot back-to-back  by J.R.R. Tolkien makes quite an impressive achievement in telling the odyssey of hobbit Frodo Baggins (Wood in arguably his finest performance to date) in his intrepid quest with an assortment of Middle Earth denizens in safely delivering a magical, powerful ring and facing incredible odds and obstacles in the long trek ahead. Excellent ensemble of wizards  grand old sage Gandalf (McKellen); evil Saruman (Lee); elves  sexy Arwen (babelicious Tyler); trusty archer Legolas (Bloom); fierce dwarf soldier Gimli (Rhs-Davies); humans (stalwart Mortensen and edgy Doubting Thomas Bean) and his three fellow hobbits  best friend Sam (loyal Astin) and ersatz Rosenrantz & Guildenstern buddies, Pippin & Merry (Boyd and Monaghan, respectively)  make for one amazing journey into darkness with some wicked villains, nasty monsters (truly vile Orcs), kick-ass battle sequences and sword bouts aplenty are counterbalanced by ethereal beauty and astounding state-of-the-arts visuals. A feast for Tolkein freaks and newcomers alike; you won't be disappointed. One of the greatest fantasy adaptations ever committed to celluloid. Kudos to Howard Shore's bombastic score (and special thanks to master sound dude Greg Laporta). One of the year's best and a near-instant classic.