The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)

Elijah Wood as "Frodo Baggins"
Ian McKellen as "Gandalf the Grey"
Viggo Mortensen as "Strider/Aragorn"
Sean Bean as "Boromir"
Orlando Bloom as "Legolas"
John Rhys-Davies as "Gimli"
Ian Holm as "Bilbo Baggins"
Christopher Lee as "Saruman"
Liv Tyler as "Arwen"
Hugo Weaving as "Elrond"
Cate Blanchett as "Galadriel"
Billy Boyd as "Pippin Took"
Dominic Monaghan as "Merry Brandybuck"

Written by Frances Walsh, Philippa Boyens, and Peter Jackson; based on the book by J.R.R. Tolkien

Directed by Peter Jackson

I'm going to tell you something. It's my deep, dark, not-so-secret secret.

I'm only thirty pages into The Fellowship of the Ring. Before that, I had never read any of Tolkien's other work. Therefore, I came into this movie with very little knowledge of what was to come. Really, I was banking solely on Peter Jackson's track record here.

So many reviews I've read thus far have assumed that the reader has some familiarity with the novels, but while there are legions of people have read the trilogy, and some are devout scholars of Tolkien's work, there is still the large percentage of average moviegoers who have never read The Lord of the Rings, some of which whose experience with Tolkien equals watching the animated versions of "The Hobbit" and "Return of the King" (no one ever shows Bakshi's "Lord of the Rings" movie on TV). And yes, I have to admit, I am part of that percentage.

When Peter Jackson was announced to be directing the movies, my response was mixed. After all, I've been a fan of Jackson's since my friend Josh forced me to watch "Dead Alive" for the first time (I've since watched it five more times). "Bad Taste" and "The Frighteners" followed for me, and my friends and I have taken to searching the Internet for a copy of "Meet the Feebles." (Actually, I've taken to seeing if I can bum it from Chad at the GBU.) Jackson is a visually impressive filmmaker with heart as well (People say "Heavenly Creatures" was his most emotional work, but I contend there was a glimmer of feeling amidst all the carnage of "Dead Alive"), and I knew he'd be as good a choice as any for a project like this, but being unfamiliar with the books, I wondered, is this project right for him?

The answer is yes. Jackson's challenge was to take a book that many people have envisioned in their own mind's eyes, and, while keeping true to the books, commit his vision of it to screen. I have to say, the film is stunning. Jackson has brought us some of those beautiful visuals ever to hit the screen. There are cozy wooded boroughs, bright Elven cities, dark and wet human towns, and foreboding dwarven passages. Each setting has a distinct look and feel. Rivendell has a faint blur and a glow surrounding it, the Shire just screams "quiet Hobbit country," and Saruman's chambers are just as you'd expect a powerful wizard's chambers to look: imperious and slightly sinister.

For those of you who don't know the story (and even if you've never read the books, by now you've seen enough of the previews to know the basics), our story revolves around Frodo Baggins, a young hobbit (as tall as a dwarf, but not as stout and nowhere near as belligerent) who received a magic ring from his older relative Bilbo. Thanks to the wizard Gandalf, he learns that the ring is actually the One Ring of Power forged by the Dark Lord Sauron in the fires of Mount Doom. Sauron was defeated three thousand years before, but the ring survived, and with it, his evil power. With his return on the horizon, Frodo is charged with traveling to Sauron's domain of Mordor and throwing the ring into fires from whence it was created, the only way to destroy it.

As you would expect, this movie is tremendously well-acted. Everyone, from Elijah Wood's gentle Frodo and Viggo Mortensen's noble Strider to Sean Bean's Boromir, a victim of the ring's temptation, is at the top of their game. Best of all, to me, is Ian McKellen as Gandalf. For one thing, he simply looks the part. He fits every illustration of the wizard that I've seen. Not only that, but he manages to fully embody Gandalf's resolve, as well as his dual natures (gentle at times, but also brusque and curt at others). I remembered thinking to myself that McKellen's performance is a Best Supporting Actor nomination waiting to happen.

However, even in three hours, there's a lot to cram into the movie, and there are quite a few characters. Boromir, Legolas, and Gimli might have been interesting enough as characters, but they didn't receive much development as individuals. Gimli seems lost in the shuffle, and Legolas has only his impeccable marksmanship to distinguish him.

The special effects, including makeup, were astounding. The diminutive size of the hobbits, in comparison to their human and elven companions, was convincing for the most part, as was Gimli's dwarven size. Hell, Gimli looked so realistic at four feet or so that I had no idea that under that makeup, it was John Rhys-Davies! And you if you know how big John Rhys-Davies is, that just seems quite funny (not to denigrate the man, though; I loved him on "Sliders").

I'm just going to make a blanket statement and tell you now that the effects were amazing throughout the entire movie. There's too much to go into detail about.

Honestly, this movie is paced so briskly that it doesn't feel at all like three hours. And that's where my biggest complaint lies. Sometimes, it just seems too fast. The first act just seemed to move a little too quickly, breezing through the setup. I remember that even in the first thirty pages of the book, events didn't move that quickly. Even in the beginning, after Bilbo Baggins "disappeared" from the Shire, it took Gandalf years to discover the secret of the One Ring. Frodo was about fifty when he undertook his adventure. However, that timetable is quite changed, and it isn't more than a few weeks after Bilbo leaves that Gandalf discovers the Ring's secret and charges Frodo with it. Within the first half-hour, Frodo and his servant Sam are on their way, and Gandalf has already begun doing battle with the corrupted wizard Saruman. Things just seem to unfold pretty swiftly.

Then there are the fight scenes, which could have been edited a little better. It's a little hard to tell what happens sometimes, though thankfully, Jackson didn't fall into the slow-motion trap. And hey, once you've seen the end fight scene in "Pootie Tang," anything else seems like a Yuen Wo Ping masterpiece.

But all else aside, "The Fellowship of the Ring" is one of the best fantasy movies to come around in years. Peter Jackson has shown that he has what it takes to helm an epic of this magnitude, and considering the trilogy was shot at once, I have every confidence that the next movies won't disappoint. I wish that other big event trilogy could say the same.

(And if that isn't enough to convince you, then may I quote a friend of mine in saying, "If you don't go see this movie, you deserve to choke on some leftover ham." ^_^)

12.27.01