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Movie Review — Lord of the Rings
By Jim Sabatini
The medieval fantasy world goes through leaps and bounds with the massive opus, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. Director Peter Jackson, known mostly for his captivating Heavenly Creatures, which starred Kate Winslet, makes the first part of the highly anticipated trilogy a visual treat with many lofty and chilling sights. The talented director won't disappoint the legions of generational supporters of J.R.R. Tolkien's enormously engrossing tome, but it's too discomforting for younger audiences looking to feel the power of a small, lustrous gold ring.
The dangers awaiting "hobbit" Frobo Baggins and his diversely engaging comrades has an aura about it that recalls the tales of Robin Hood and his band of merry men, and even the legend of Sleepy Hollow. But there's little that's hollow in this film, which holds mostly firm to Tolkien's exulted Rings, a sequel to The Hobbit that vividly realizes the mystical, distant, often dark world of friendly halflings with furry, elongated feet who live in a shire.
Jackson's ability to understand Tolkien's rich prose heightens emotions and passion. A meticulous craftsmanship that rarely ebbs makes Fellowship a transfixing, often exhilarating experience rooted in the Middle Earth of the hobbits. Filmed with its sequels, The Two Towers and The Return of the King, the first of the Rings trilogy has a young hero in Elijah Wood's conflicted, maturing Frodo and the dynamics involving the transitions from the initial idyllic setting of The Hobbit.
In the opening prologue, a backstory, the ring's significance explains the menacing, towering Sauron and the pains taken to vanquish him, accomplished by a human named Isildur (Harry Sinclair), who is the king of Gondor. Sauron's finger with the ring is severed by the king, who doesn't anticipate what the band can do. Then Jackson, who co-wrote the supple screenplay, smoothly brings fate into the Hobbit life of one Bilbo Baggins (Ian Holm), who snatches the ring from a lurking cave denizen.
The ring has made Bilbo not age at all over 60 years, and during his 111th birthday he uses its cloaking power to abruptly go home. It's not easy for Bilbo to give it to young cousin Frodo at the strong request of stately wizard Gandalf the Grey, acted with sageliness by a hirsute Ian McKellan ("Apt Pupil"). The dark side of Sauron comes out often in The Fellowship of the Ring as the ring wants to be found. But Frodo can't let go of the one thing that can be destructive to those closest to him, and which could be utilized to the fullest only by the sinister lord.
Then Frodo and his hearty pal Sam (Sean Astin) have to leave home after a terrorizing encounter with ominous horsemen, the Nazgul, who are dedicated to recovering the ring for Sauron. Before a startling confrontation involving the wizard with Christopher Lee's Saruman the White, Frodo and Sam are teamed up with energetic hobbits, Brandybuck and Took (Dominic Monaghan and Billy Boyd). A night of impending doom for the quartet is salvaged with the appearance of a human forest ranger, first referred to as Strider, but soon the affecting Viggo Mortensen tells them he is Aragorn.
Jackson works well with his crew to create a differential in size between the hobbits and the looming wizard. The action in Isengard has more foreboding implications concerning Sauron, and Frodo barely escapes the cold forest in deteriorating health through the heavenly, mercurial elf Arwen, acted elegantly by Liv Tyler. The striking sequence calls to mind a river wild against the likes of the evil minions of Pharoah's army.
The title comes to fruition as Frodo questions his acceptance of the ring, but values the importance of solidifying with others, including Gandalf, other hobbits, elves, humans and dwarves. Hugo Weaving (The Matrix) and Cate Blanchett (Bandits and The Gift) have key parts as super-elves, as Blanchett's Lady Galadriel lets him look into the mirror and the visions of his destiny as the ringbearer.
As Fellowship surges toward the home of Sauron, Mordor, a formidable team is assembled which includes Legolas (Orlando Bloom), a bowman elf, and a dwarf named Gimli (John Rhys-Davies), who has an axe in hand. But the human of Gondor, Sean Bean's Boromir, adds much to the emotional core of Rings, especially in scenes with Frodo and Aragorn.
Some may feel that The Lord of the Rings is overlong like the enchanting, equally anticipated Harry Potter big-budget extravaganza. But if the English settings in Harry enliven things without the scope of Jackson's progressive, outrageous film, both work off the emotions of the main character.
Here, there's a chivalrous presence amid the monstrosities and trolls comparable to the centaur and the three-headed Cerebus. And the epic, gladiatorial sequences penetrate without gore, showing battles with the demonic Balrogs and the strong, sickening Uruks under the corrupted Saruman. Essentially, this new saga soars with some Shakespearean moments within the widescreen photography and detailed designs, which allow Wood and McKellan, most notably, to shine. But for insights into the costumes and creature design, which were made very atmospheric for the big screen, the pages of Tolkien will show how the risky, complex adaptation takes artistic license with the sword and sorcery genre.
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