The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring

“The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring”, directed by Peter Jackson.

Starring Elijah Wood, Ian McKellan, Christopher Lee, Viggo Mortensen, Orlando Bloom, Sean Bean, John Ryhs-Davies, Liv Tyler, Sean Astin, Hugo Weaving, Andy Serkis, Dominic Monaghan, Billy Boyd, and Cate Blanchett.

Winner of an Academy Award for Best Music (Howard Shore), Best Visual Effects (Jim Rygiel, Randall William Cook, Richard Taylor, and Mark Stetson), Best Make up (Peter Owen and Richard Taylor), and Best Cinematography (Andrew Lesnie).

Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture, Best Director (Peter Jackson), Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Art Direction (Grant Major, Dan Hennah), Best Costumes (Ngila Dickson and Richard Taylor), Best Film Editing (John Gilbert), Best Original Song, and Best Sound Editing (Christopher Boyes, Michael Semanick, Gethin Creagh, Hammond Peek).

Released in the mid 1950’s, the “Lord of the Rings” novels by J.R.R. Tolkien are some of the most popular and best selling novels in history. Hollywood did attempt to adapt them in the Ralph Bakshi cartoon of 1978, however it only adapted half of the novels, and was finished off in a tepid 1980 TV special, that despite featuring the voices of stars such as Casey Kasem created a splintered feeling for the franchise, echoing Stanley Kubrick’s feelings that the franchise was un-filmable due to how epic the story was.

In the mid 90’s, an inspired Peter Jackson stuck to his guns about adapting the “Rings” novels his way, and the Harvey Weinstein-lead Miramax decided to turf the project. Undaunted, Jackson showed a cut of his idea for making 2 films about the book(s), and New Line Cinema’s Mark Ordesky was impressed enough to suggest sticking to the format of 3 movies for the 3 novels. With backing from a studio (to the tune of approximately $300 million), and time to prepare, Jackson made a trilogy that represents one of the best to screen adaptations ever made.

Those who are dismissive of “LOTR” as just a big budget renaissance fair are only revealing their ignorance: the themes here are universally understood as a meditation on good vs evil, how one can only stand idle for so long before acting, and mankind’s capacity for greed and selflessness. While at times the series can be somewhat basic in it’s depiction of 2 polarized sides fighting for control of the realm of Middle Earth, it’s depictions of temptation, fear, friendship, and valour are inserted into some serious trilogy character building and world exploring. Once you consider that the series came out at around the same times as other underwhelming Science Fiction stalwarts (specifically Star Wars, Episode II:Attack of the Clones and the Matrix: Reloaded), it’s clear that “LOTR”’s place in history is secure. Even without the 17 Academy Awards and nearly $3 billion in grosses, it remains a timeless gem that (most) of the family can get behind and enjoy in it’s epic action, spirited wonder, and humourous spectacle.

Every story has it’s beginning, and here in “Fellowship” Jackson has arguably his greatest challenge: introducing the opening third of a trilogy that needs to show us the epic world of Middle Earth, the huge stakes involved, and the overmatched protagonists’ journey. We cut to a spectacular and involving prologue (for an example of where things could have gone downhill, consult 1984’s “Dune”), where we see armies of men and elves, fighting against the dark forces of the evil Lord Sauron. Sauron’s efforts are bolstered by a very special ring, that rules all of the other rings that have been created for other races. We see that the battle is won by men, and the ring taken from Sauron, but at the moment when the ring can be destroyed forever, it is instead hoarded, and then lost. The ring turns up of course, years later, and we meet a race of Hobbits (basically miniature humans) who are tasked with taking it to be destroyed in a volcano far, far away. Leading the charge is Frodo (Elijah Wood), who is determined to do what is right and is helped by his ignorance of the world outside of the Hobbits’ shire where they live. Helpful as always, is Sam (Sean Astin), who is loyal and protective. For comic relief, we meet Pippen and Merry (Billy Boyd and Dominic Monaghan), always up to hijinks. The 4 of them are sent on their journey by the wise wizard, Gandalf the Grey, who knows too well of the ring’s corruptive and destructive influence. Meeting up with their hastily arranged protection, the group meets a mysterious Ranger (named Aragorn, played by Viggo Mortensen), a knight named Boromir (Sean Bean), an elf named Legolas (Orlando Bloom), and a dwarf named Gimli (John Rhys-Davies). We also are briefly introduced to the character Gollum (Andy Serkis), a monster who was disfigured by having the ring and is constantly searching for his now lost “precious”. We meet Gandalf’s wizard mentor, Sarumon the White, who is tempted by the dark promises of Sauron. Hot on the heroes trail, are “the 9”, a group of nasty undead taking on human form and riding horses while emitting terrifying screams. And of course, we see more of Sauron, constantly tempting the carrier/wearer of the ring from afar, yet always in the room with us.

If it sounds like a lot of characters, it is (and there are more)- but all of them will feature prominently in upcoming episodes.

While showing us the hobbits’ shire, we are shown one sequence where a story teller tells spellbound children about their exploits in Middle Earth. That is what Jackson does here- he leaves us spellbound. Using old fashioned techniques such as foreshortening and wide angle lenses to show the exaggerated differences in the diverse character sizes, alongside state of the art CGI effects that have aged well, Jackson takes his native New Zealand, previously unknown to North America, and showcases it’s spectacular wonder in a way that would shame a National Geographic special. Powered by an all time great score by Howard Shore, the propulsive energy of the film, from introducing the story, to the characters’ opportunities for growth, to the tightening of gears that continue to grow while spinning forwards, Jackson gives us his all. Obsessive in it’s details towards the book’s spirit while not being slavish to the novel’s plot (it’s an adaptation after all), Jackson’s simplistic take on the forces of good and evil, having to start a journey of overwhelming odds, ups the stakes as we see the characters march towards Sauron’s homeland of Mordor through forests, rivers, mountains, swamps, and caves. Proving himself as adept as making a grand adventure as much as a movie about man fighting insect-like orcs and trolls, Jackson accomplishes the near impossible: introducing a great quest, full of dynamic characters and mythic legend, that leaves us begging for more. We end with some characters in a sprint, and others struggling. But as Gandalf tells us, “All we have to do is decide what to do with the time that is given to us.”
A fantastic opener that leads us to "The Two Towers", it feels effortless, and this is one fellowship you want to be a part of.

5/5

Trailer: Click Here.