Movie Review: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
20-year-old actor Elijah Wood, who plays lead Hobbit Frodo in the massive Lord of the Rings trilogy of films, was so hot to win the role that he put on a fluffy shirt, dorky suspenders and went out and frolicked in the woods to make an audition tape. New Zealand Rings director Peter Jackson (The Frighteners, Heavenly Creatures) saw the tape and was wowed. Wood had the lead part in the series of films that would bring the legendary Tolkien books to life.
For the uninitiated, here's the Fellowship of the Ring tale in a nutshell: In the mythical world of Middle Earth, the future of civilization rests in the fate of the One Ring, which has been lost for centuries. Powerful evil forces are unrelenting in their search for it. But fate has placed it in the hands of a young, furry-footed Hobbit named Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood), who inherits the Ring.
Frodo, as the Ringbearer, must destroy the One Ring in the fires of Mount Doom in the land of Mordor where it was forged. But he can't do it alone. A Fellowship bands together to help Frodo. He has the wisdom of his favorite wizard Gandalf (Ian McKellen) and the loyalty of his friends, fellow hobbits Sam (Sean Astin), Merry (Dominic Monaghan) and Pippin (Billy Boyd). Led by Gandalf, the group starts the quest to destroy the ring and toss it into the fires of the mountain before evil Lord Sauron and his many followers can stop them.
Along the way the fellowship grows. Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen) and Boromir (Sean Bean, humans, join the quest. Elfin archer Legolas (Orlando Bloom); and dwarf Gimli (John Rhys-Davies) sign on. They are aided by beautiful elf Arwen (Liv Tyler), Elf Queen Galadriel (Cate Blanchett) and Elrond (Hugo Weaving), whose knowledge of the One Ring brings to light the true danger and importance of their journey.
On the road, many are tempted by the power of the ring to turn to the "dark side" and all must fight Sauron's minions consisting of Wraiths (dark "undead" black riders), the monster Gollum who shadows the group, huge Orcs and the cross-bred army of the Uruk-Hai created by once white wizard now turned dark, Saruman (Christopher Lee). At great cost, Frodo is brought to the land of Mordor where he and Hobbit buddy Sam will go on alone. End Part I.
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I start by saying that I am judging this film on its own merit. I've never read Tolkien. I was into science fiction (Heinlein and Asimov) when others were enthralled by "sword and sorcery" epics. Does the film completely work for those who haven't read the popular trilogy? Yes and no.
The special effects, production and costume design, combined with the natural beauty of the New Zealand landscape, make Rings eye-candy of the first order. You totally believe the fantastic worlds that the film wizards have created. From the tiny green Shire homes of the Hobbits to snowswept mountain passes, huge armies, and the subterranean kingdom of the Dwarves, there is never a frame that audiences can't accept and marvel in. A scene in which Arwen whips up a flood to save herself and Frodo from the Wraiths is unique in that the head of the flood waters looks like stampeding white horses. On set camerawork is also magical. Tiny Hobbits are shot at an angle so that the normal-sized actors appear several feet shorter than humans or wizards. Bad guys are appropriately creepy. I was especially creeped-out by those spooky, faceless, horsemen of the Apocalypse, the Ring Wraiths, who are downright frightening. Music by Howard Shore with contributions by songstress Enya was top notch and appropriate.
Casting is excellent. Ian Holm is both troubled and impish as Bilbo Baggins and Elijah Wood is ethereal and innocent. Behind those big blue eyes could be nothing but wonder and the magic of purity. All the Hobbit sidekick actors are convincing if bumbling. Ian McKellen matches every idea of Gandalf I'd ever had and classic actor Christopher Lee is great as good wizard-turned-evil Saruman. Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn and Sean Bean as Boromir are just human and rough-edged enough to contrast beautifully with ethereal Liv Tyler as Arwen and golden Cate Blanchett's Galadriel.
At three hours, any film would struggle to hold an audience. I realize that the first film of a trilogy is the "set-up" piece and, as such is not the "heart" of the three-part drama. Despite gorgeous and miraculous worlds, fine acting and earnest attempts to be true to its source, this first installment of the Rings cycle bogs down in repetition. After a couple of hours those spooky Wraiths constantly chasing the good guys gets old. The formula of trek, hide, run, fight is repeated throughout with little relief. The comic relief provided by two of the less brave Hobbits is a little weak and after several hand-to-hand combat scenes between wizards or the Fellowship members and various creatures, we're left with a "been there, seen that" feeling that had me looking at my watch.
Intrigues and twists to come are only hinted at and the straightforward simplicity of the story fails to suck one in as it should. I had no emotional stake in the success of the characters. Perhaps more time should have been given to small, personal scenes that develop the character relationships for the film audience rather than relying on the imaginations of the multitudes of Tolkien fans who have already solidified their feelings about the citizens of Middle Earth. The abrupt ending is expected in this kind of serial storytelling but was a bit jarring and unsatisfying. The story problems may be due to the fact that the script was written by a committee of three.
All this said, do I still want to see what happens in Part II? Of course! The central act of a three part film series is almost always the most satisfying. Central film The Empire Strikes Back is my favorite of the first Star Wars series and I look forward to Part II of the current film series for that exact reason. Even I know that Frodo will be successful in his quest and many of you know his every move along with way. If Part II avoids the cyclic repetition of this one, I look forward to seeing more fantastic eye candy at the very least.
For epic all-around visuals, Lord of the Rings gets five stars!
The overall film gets an "average" three.
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Lynn Barker is a Hollywood-based entertainment journalist and produced screenwriter
