| LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING Rating:  Director: Peter Jackson Producers: Barrie M. Osborne, Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, Tim Sanders Screenplay: Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Peter Jackson Director of Photography: Andrew Lesnie Cast: Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Liv Tyler, Viggo Mortensen, Sean Astin, Cate Blanchett, John Rhys-Davies, Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan, Orlando Bloom, Christopher Lee, Hugo Weaving Featuring Sean Bean and Ian Holm With Andy Serkis as Gollum |
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Review by:
Ryan Kugler
1/22/02
I've never played Dungeons and Dragons, never owned a twelve-sided die, and never read a novel by J.R.R. Tolkien, but I was looking forward to the first installment of the Lord of the Rings films as much as the next person.
Director Peter Jackson has made some sick, crazy, over-the-top movies these past several years - from the gore-fests Bad Taste and Brain Dead to the X-rated puppet extravaganza Meet the Feebles. He also made one of the best true crime stories I've seen in Heavenly Creatures. All of these are among the best that their respective genres have to offer, but nothing that he's done so far can compare with the scope of The Fellowship of the Ring.
The film starts out with a quick recap of Tolkien's The Hobbit. It's a great ten minute refresher for people who have read the prequel to Lord of the Rings and extremely important for those that haven't. It's in these opening scenes that the numerous creatures and different lands that are part of Middle Earth are established. It's also where we learn the history of the great and powerful ring and what the consequences are if it's not returned to and destroyed in the fires of Mount Doom.
After the exciting prologue, the film slows down a bit to introduce us to Frodo Baggins, Gandalf, and some of the other characters that will partake in the quest at the heart of the story. I've heard complaints about the first hour, but this is the beginning of an eventual nine-hour story and it needs this time to set everything up. Even though these scenes are slower than those in the rest of the film, they are never boring and there's always something cool to look at.
Once the characters head out on their long journey to destroy the ring, danger lurks around every corner. These next two hours are intense and exciting, as our heroes face challenges at every turn. There are elements to survive, creatures to defeat, and temptations to overcome.
This is one great looking film. The cinematography by Andrew Lesnie is beautiful and really captures the New Zealand countryside. I love that the film was shot on location and not on some stage surrounded by a giant green screen. It's also nice to have special FX that complement a film and not overwhelm it. Howard Shore's epic and commanding score was immensely enjoyable, and fit perfectly with Jackson's images. Everything else, from the production design to the costumes, is flawless.
One of my favorite technical aspects is how the different heights and sizes of the numerous characters were handled. Jackson had to deal with Hobbits, Dwarves, Elves, Orcs, and Humans, and they are all of varying shapes and sizes. For these shots, Jackson used forced perspective rather than special effects and it works great. I actually bought the fact that McKellen towered over all of the other actors, when in reality, he's a pretty small guy.
Most surprising for this type of film, is the exceptional acting by the huge ensemble. Elijah Wood is cast perfectly as Frodo Baggins. He possesses an endearing innocent quality that makes us want to follow this little guy to the end and have him succeed in his mission. Ian McKellen turns in the best performance of the film as the wizard Gandalf. He overpowers every scene he's in and I look forward to his return in the next two chapters. Other standouts include Ian Holm as Bilbo Baggins, Viggo Mortensen as Strider, and Christopher Lee as the evil Saruman. Even Liv Tyler, who I was worried about, was strong and poetic as the elf, Arwen.
The Fellowship of the Ring is brave filmmaking with a lot of heart. Peter Jackson has made an old-fashioned "Hollywood" epic, but has retained his independent spirit. Sure it's a little long, a bit slow in spots, and slightly repetitive (they walk, they fight, they walk, they fight, etc.), but it's still the best adventure film since the Indiana Jones days.
Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers has now become one of my most anticipated upcoming
movies, and unlike George Lucas, Jackson is only making us wait
one year instead of three.
Agree? Disagree? Talk about it in the forums.
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