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All-Reviews.com Movie/Video Review
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
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 out of 4
Review by Susan Granger
3½ stars out of 4
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At last, the first installment of J.R.R. Tolkien's epic good-versus-evil
adventure, "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring," is here!
Meticulously directed by Peter Jackson, this begins a mythic trilogy - with all
three films made simultaneously over a year and a half. For the uninitiated, the
plot revolves around Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood), a tiny hobbit, who is
entrusted with a mysterious ring when his elderly uncle, Bilbo Baggins (Ian
Holm), leaves the bucolic Shire. Forged of evil, the history of this powerful
gold band reaches back to a time when men, elves and dwarves shared power over
Middle-earth. Accompanied by his loyal friend Sam (Sean Astin), the wise wizard
Gandalf (Ian McKellen), an elf (Orlando Bloom), a dwarf (John Rhys-Davies), and
two warriors (Viggo Mortensen, Sean Bean), guileless Frodo begins a dangerous
quest to return the ring to be destroyed in the fires of Mordor's Mountain of
Doom. While Liv Tyler and Cate Blanchett lend elven support, there are many
obstacles, particularly the dark powers which wicked Saruman (Christopher Lee)
wields from Isengard, his Gothic fortress. There are terrifying, menacing
creatures like Ringwraiths on horseback, Orc archers and - most impressively - a
giant demon troll from the Mines of Moria. While avid fans debate the accuracy,
I found it long and repetitive with garbled genealogies, confusing mythology and
excessive violence for PG-13. But, visually, Grant Major's production design and
the CGI effects are amazing: the Gollum, the alpine village of Rivendell, the
Lothlorien forest, the crumbling bridge of Khazad-dum - all heralded by the
Harold Shore's/Enya's sweeping music. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10,
"Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" is a scary, vivid, awesome 8,
primarily for Tolkien devotees.
Copyright © 2001 Susan Granger
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