Beautiful but too slow

Rating: 5/10 (18 January 2006)

Overall, I enjoyed the 'Lord of the Rings' trilogy, but I found 'Fellowship of the Rings' to be too slowly-paced for my liking. Obviously, that cannot be helped much as the story itself (and it is very close to the novel) is slow. The film involves the characters beginning their journey to defeat the evil wizard and his army, who are planning to take over Middle Earth. The film has all the fantasy elements: wizards, dragons, dwarfs, elves, powerful landscapes, trolls, and much more. If you have trouble with fantasy films, this one is not for you because it does consist mainly of the characters trekking around for nearly three hours (this, among other story elements) in the wilderness. I haven't been able to bring myself to watch it again after seeing it in the cinema because it is such a long film and because I thought it was too dull and long. The best thing about this film is the photography; some of the scenes are spectacular, and there is no doubt that a lot of time was invested in the cinematography of this film and the attention to detail in costume. (I have been to the exhibition in the London Science Museum to see some of the props and how the films were made, and -to say the least- it was amazing.) I greatly prefer the other two films to this one, but I suppose you must see this one to understand the others.