SELECTED REVIEW OF THE DAY: Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)

In time for the release of The Hobbit, I feel that it is time to review The Lord of the Rings Trilogy directed by Peter Jackson. The Lord of The Rings trilogy, based on the books by J.R.R. Tolkein, are considered to be now as part of Hollywood's greatest films making critics and audiences cheer and making big money in the box office. The series itself has enormous  fan base and has gone on to be on par with other big science fiction/fantasy franchises in terms of fandom such as Star Wars and Star Trek. You can probably call it The Star Wars Trilogy of our time. It is funny to think that this trilogy started just about a decade ago and already it had made a huge impact on people and film history. And it all started with the first of the trilogy The Fellowship of the Ring, released in 2001. What's the story? Well the setting is Middle Earth and supposedly these rings were made and divided to each of the races who dwelled in the lands that separated Middle Earth. Then the evil and power-hungry dark lord Sauron of Mordor crafted and forged a dark and powerful ring, the One Ring as many call it, that was made to control all rings and the lands and whoever posses it gets  highly obsessed with it and its powers. When a war came about that put an alliance of elves and men against Sauron's army, a king defeated Sauron but the Ring's powers overcame the king's will when he decided to keep it. The king was later killed and the Ring flowed through a river where Gollum found it and became immensely obsessed with it taking it deep into the mountains where the Ring tortured him for 500 years. That is until a Hobbit named Bilbo Baggins, played by Ian Holm, found it and took it from Gollum's home. Our story really begins when Bilbo has a desire to travel the land once more as he leaves his valuable possessions, including the Ring, to Frodo Baggins, played by Elijah Wood. But it turns out the Sauron's army is looking for the Ring as Sauron's spirit still lives on, only if the Ring still exists. A wizard and friend of Frodo, named Gandalf the Grey, played by Ian McKellen, tells him that he must take the Ring to Rivendall, home of the elves, the council of the elves will decide its fate. After a rough start of his journey as his Hobbit  friends Samwise "Sam" Gamgee, played by Sean Astin, Peregrin "Pippin" Took, played by Billy Boyd, and Meriadoc "Merry"" Brandybuck played by Dominic Monaghan, tag along, Frodo volunteers himself at Rivendell to take the Ring to Mordor and throw deep into the fires of Mt. Doom, as it can only be destroyed where it was made, and so his friends, Gandalf, a ranger named Aragorn, played by Viggo Mortensen, an elf named Legolas, played by Orlando Bloom, a dwarf named Gimli, played by John Rhys-Davies, and a Prince from the Stewards of Gondor named Boromir, played by Sean Bean, all accompany and escort Frodo on his mission to destroy the One Ring as they form The Fellowship of the Ring. And I enjoy every minute of this film, the scale, the setting, the story, the characters, the epic feel to it, the creativity, and most importantly how it works as a plausible and very adult fantasy story.



Well as you can tell there are a ton of key characters to look over so let us not waste anytime. We have our main character Frodo Baggins and I know everyone has gone off to say this about a million times but there can be no better casting than Elijah Wood. Again, this one of those actors you can point and say "That's Frodo Baggins" no doubt about it. And the character is actually too portrayed and written well. Wood gives a believable performance throughout that is sure to leave an impact on the audience. It is one of the rare times you can admire great innocence to a character and acutally sympathize with the burdens he now has to carry to protect this One Ring, a Ring that can turn the most good-hearted being into a power-hungry monster. We don't want that to happen to him because one we learned what the Ring can do, and two we already got used to his character and the pure innocence that he has. But we are at least thankful that he is somewhat resistant to its powers, that is until the next two installments of the trilogy but we'll get to that when we come around to them. There is also some depth to his character than him just being this innocent and kind-hearted being. He has determination, he's honest, trustful, willing to sacrifice what's precious to him, can be nice but does have his limits, and there also many complaints that they made the character to vulnerable and to be honest I can see both the good and bad sides to that. The bad side is that it makes him look weak and not being able to be strong enough to go on this journey, it almost makes us wonder why he was chosen. But on the other hand, it does make the character seem more realistic and relatable because, hey, he had no experience fighting or going on adventures, so in any case he works good as the every guy and at least has some elements in him that we can relate to as everyday people. I love Ian McKellen as Gandalf, again and probably it is best to say for most characters in this film that they had done the perfect casting. He's wise, caring, definitely has his limits, courageous, strong, insightful, and cautious. When McKellen delivers his lines, you don't see an actor acting you see Gandalf right before your eyes and every delivery that is given is truly believable. We got Sean Astin as Frodo's best friend Sam who honestly does not have much as a bigger role in this film as he does in the next two but he still holds pretty well, always standing by Frodo in his need, that's a true friend. Aragorn, played by Viggo Mortensen, surprisingly out of this entire cast is one how I probably have mixed feelings about. He does good and has good moments but I can't see him as this great hero, there is something too odd about his appearence, he does not seem like the kind of man who can be in command. I could probably see a Liam Neeson, Russel Crowe, or a Hugh Jackman more in that role, someone who can give great command and looks like a great hero. But for what Mortensen delivers it's not half bad, what you is what you get and he holds up fine, just a little distracting by appearance. John Rhys- Davies as Gimli is pretty enjoyable to watch. To be honest I have not seen much films with John Rhys-Davies only the Indiana Jones films, but I got to say watching these performances makes me really convinced that the guy loves acting, and whatever character he is given he is totally within the role. I don't know whether the characters were written so well or having fun in his performances is just his method, but either way I still enjoy him a ton. Orlando Bloom as Legolas I recall does not do much in first installment either but as he is, he's not terrible. I don't think he says much either but his expressions are enough to deliver a decent performance. I also really like Sean Bean as Boromir. I like how this character can be so likeable as one of the protagonists but can be complex and have flaws in his heroic personality at the same time. He can get along with the Fellowship fine, he can take orders, and tries to be loyal and keep his vow to Frodo, but there is still a darkness within and we can sense that throughout the film. We also see that he tries to fight it but the inner darkness still has ways of winning, but that doesn't mean his heroism fails to shine. We get to see both a light and dark side to him and both sides are successfully represented most of the film, and I find that very interesting as well as impressive.The other two Hobbits, Merry and Pippin, are also very enjoyable. They act more as the comic relief characters in this first installment, but they do not kill the tone of this film at all. They can be a pain and an inconvenient obstacle to the other heroes, yes, but when they decide to be supportive and helpful they actually come true. So there really is not anything I can complain about these two. The hold up fine. Lastly, I feel that I need to talk about Saruman, the evil wizard played by Christopher Lee. Saruman is all around sinister, cunning, intimidating, and just has an awesome presence to him. I love villains that can project such an epic presence whenever they are around especially when Christopher Lee is in the role. This man was born to play great villains ranging from Dracula to Saruman, plus his voice just adds to the awesome presence I keep talking about. Honestly, I would not have a problem if this guy was the main villain throughout instead of Sauron, as long as Christopher Lee is there I'll be happy.



Director Peter Jackson, had officially made his mark on The Lord of the Rings story. He proven that he can be the only one who can successfully bring this story to the big screen. He knows how to get the right shots, the right angles, the right scenery, the right locations to film the scenes, and the right delivery from the actors. You can tell he had total control on how the final and finished product should look like without noticing some obvious changes that probably the producers and studio executives would bug him about . The music by Howard Shore is beyond phenomenal, he knows the right symphony that matches with each scene. The music and scenes are in harmony and they work with each other perfectly. Easily one of the best scores ever composed for a film. The action scenes are also absolutely fun to watch especially during the third act. Each character has their own unique method for combat and it seems like a really cool superhero team, with the way they work together and seeing the ways they fight. Whether they have cold steel in their eyes or have simple joy and fun in taking out their villainous adversaries, the heroes is what makes the action scenes great as well as the choreography. 



The story and scope for this film is just huge. It is an epic, of course, but the premise, the stakes that are at risk, the unbelievably large cast of characters, the unbelievably well done acting, the massive and always expanding setting, the sense of great adventure, and even the message that I at least got out of it makes this a huge film. And I praise it highly for making it work with out things being unbalanced, inconsistent, and awkward. When you go in and you find out the running time, it would be sort of lying if you said that you weren't dreading to sit down for almost three hours to find out what kind of story do these people want to tell that they have to have three hours to tell. But there is always a point in the film where I feel that anyone can get immediately hooked to the story and the characters that they are willing to sit through to the end. I will not say what I think the overall message of this series is or how I feel about it overall until I get to the last and third installment, Return of the King. But let's just say that I find it to be positive, good, uplifting, and maybe even inspirational. Fellowship of the Ring is a great film to kick off this epic and highly engaging story with great characters, great settings, unbelievable creativity, great music, and overall having everything that makes watching films great, fun, and most importantly entertaining. Even if you have not read the J.R.R. Tolkein novel, I highly believe anyone can go into this film and enjoy it. And when I mean everyone, yes, I mean ALL AGES, regardless of the rating the MPAA has given it. It is that darn good! 

GRADE: E