Subject: Review: Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The (2001)

From: Steve Rhodes <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 07 Dec 2001 03:28:41 -0000

THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING
A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 2001 Steve Rhodes
RATING (0 TO ****):  *** 1/2

For those of you who, like me, were disappointed by HARRY POTTER AND THE
SORCERER'S STONE, as well as for those of you who can't get enough of magical
tales, New Line Cinema has the perfect answer: THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE
FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING.  

Directed with dark intensity by Peter Jackson (HEAVENLY CREATURES), the film
pushes the limits of its PG-13 rating.  Decapitations in PG-13?  Excuse me? 
"Are you frightened?" Aragorn a.k.a. Strider (Viggo Mortensen) in an early scene
asks Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood), the story's convincingly vulnerable hero. 
"Yes," Frodo replies with wide eyes.  "Not near frightened enough," Strider
corrects him.

HARRY POTTER works best for the eight-to-twelve age group, but THE LORD OF THE
RINGS is inappropriate for most kids under twelve.  For those old enough to see
it, THE LORD OF THE RINGS is definitely the more rewarding of the two.

Sharing the majesty of opera composer Richard Wagner's own ring series, THE LORD
OF THE RINGS has a bold, stirring score that's easily the best of the year.  As
the music moves your ears and heart, the sets will delight you eyes and mind. 
Filmed in the director's native New Zealand, the sets range from enchanted
cottages to skyscraper-sized stone sculptures.

The intricate story concerns an all-powerful ring.  Like many people, I've never
read any of J.R.R. Tolkien's books about the ring.  Nor, for that matter, any of
the Harry Potter books.  Prior knowledge isn't necessary for THE LORD OF THE
RINGS although I suspect the books' many fans will be able to appreciate
numerous subtleties that I missed.  If you don't know the story, be sure and see
the movie from the very beginning as the opening explanation is quite helpful.

The ring is an extremely challenging and dangerous possession as Frodo finds out
when the ring passes from Bilbo Baggins (Ian Holm) to him.  Both of them are
Hobbits, which is a race of half-height people with wide and very hairy feet. 
There are many different races in the story, as well as some quite scary
characters.  One race of bad guys appears rather like the Borg from Star Trek. 
The hardest monster to defeat looks like a mutant Shrek on major steroids. 
Between considerations of the mythology, there's a lot of fighting, some of
which will remind you of similar scenes from STAR WARS.  But, when the going
gets tough, Gandalf (Ian McKellen), Frodo's tall mentor and protector, sometimes
resorts to "Run!"

My only complaint?  Like HARRY POTTER, the film could stand some trimming.  I
would have liked it even more if it were a tad shorter.  Having now seen the
first one, I can't wait for the two sequels, which have already been filmed and
are going to be released for the 2002 and 2003 Christmas seasons.

THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING runs 3:00.  It is rated PG-13
for "epic battle sequences and some scary images" and would be acceptable for
kids around 12 and up.  The MPAA should never have said "some scary images." 
There are many extremely scary images in the movie.  

The film opens nationwide in the United States on Wednesday, December 19, 2001. 
In the Silicon Valley, it will be showing at the AMC and the Century theaters.

Web: http://www.InternetReviews.com
Email: [email-masked]

***********************************************************************

Want free reviews and weekly movie and video recommendations via Email? 
Just send me a letter with the word "subscribe" in the subject line.

==========
X-RAMR-ID: 30403
X-Language: en
X-RT-ReviewID: 270110
X-RT-TitleID: 1108476
X-RT-SourceID: 703
X-RT-AuthorID: 1271