Believe the hype - you'll enjoy it more

Rating: Null/10 (28 December 2001)

There's been a lot of hyperbole surrounding this movie. And is it all true? That depends. What we have here is a very good movie (maybe a great movie) and one of those rare occasions when if you believe the hype, you're likely to enjoy it a whole lot more. It's a throwback to the good old days of Jaws and ET and Raiders, when a film could be great without trying to be deep and meaningful - when blockbusters were GOOD. It's an event.
The movie itself makes no attempt to hide this fact. FoTR KNOWS its an event movie. From the moment the titles fade and the cinema fills with foreboding choral music and strange, whispered elvish speech, this movie feels big. Taking a leaf out of Spielberg's book, Jackson doesn't keep the epic battle scenes for the climax, he introduces them only a couple of minutes in. And it's not all for show either, these scenes are vital in setting the tone: don't be fooled by all the cute little hobbits - this is serious end-of-the-world stuff. The sense of gravitas is carried beyond the prologue and into the first act of the movie proper by the two Sir Ians, Holm and McKellen. Holm's Bilbo Baggins is a sad old man who is slowly being eaten away by his addiction to the ring of power and does not yet know it. McKellen's Gandalf is at once powerful and playful, clearly deeply concerned for his old friend, yet pulling no punches when it comes down to business. Whenever the two share the screen you can be in no doubt that you are watching two of Britain's greatest living actors. As for Elijah Wood's Frodo, the term 'more than just a pretty face' has never seemed more apt: from the childlike, carefree halfling to the disturbed, weary adventurer, the transition is played flawlessly and it is heartbreaking.
This is of course an adventure movie and it's once the adventure begins that it really kicks off. Like the book, it's fairly linear plot-wise, structured as a string of set pieces as Frodo & co battle first the nightmarish ringwraiths, then orcs, squids, the demonic Balrog and the vicious Uruk-hai, who bear a striking resemblance to Mel Gibson's William Wallace. The lack of a single tangible bad guy is compensated for by infusing every scene with a sense of menace. The ring itself becomes the real baddie, whispering sweet nothings to tempt even the most pure hearted of Frodo's allies, while the Dark Lord Sauron appears as a giant flaming eyeball (it's scarier than it sounds - honest!), endlessly searching for Frodo and the ring.
What really lifts this film above the ranks of hollywood popcorn fare is the imagination and deep affection that has clearly gone into making it. There are countless blink-and-miss-it moments that any old rent-a-director simply wouldn't have bothered with. To mention but a few: when Bilbo drops the ring, it falls to the ground with a thud - not a clatter, nor a tinkle, but a thud; when we see the nine kings of men who are given the nine rings, we see them looking sinister and shrouded in blackness - a hint at what they are to become; when the ringwraith crouches over the hobbits, centipedes and worms squirm out of the earth to get away from it; and Gandalf's face when Frodo volunteers to destroy the ring is a picture of deep, deep sadness and great love - credit to Ian McKellen for that. There are too many of these little moments to mention but every one adds a dimension to the world that Peter Jackson has created.
Sadly, as this is only the first part of the story, it suffers from an abrupt ending and a lack of character development. It would have been nice to see more of the Fellowship. Legolas should have been allowed to do a little more that look distant and say things like 'I sense danger' whilst Gimli's heritage could have been fleshed out a tad. But these are luxuries that, even in a 3 hour film, there really isn't time for. The more important characters, Aragorn, Gandalf etc. are all captured perfectly. You really want to jump out of your seat and cheer when Aragorn saves Frodo on Weathertop, and Boromir redeems himself so valiantly in his attempts to defend the hobbits and his downright refusal to die that you really do care when he finally snuffs it.
The key to really enjoying this film is suspending disbelief, believing the hype and enjoying the ride. I could go on for hours but I see that I already have, so all I want to say in conclusion is that this may not be the best movie ever, but it was well worth three hours of my life and I'd give it another three tomorrow. I know which episode 2 I'll be most looking forward to next year and it aint nothing to do with Clones.