A shy young hobbit named Frodo Baggins (Wood) inherits a simple gold ring. He knows the ring has power, but not that he alone holds the secret to the survival – -or enslavement – -of the entire world. Now Frodo, accompanied by the wizard Gandalf (McKellen), Legolas the elf (Bloom), Gimli the dwarf (Rhys-Davies), men Strider the Ranger (Mortensen) and Boromir (Bean), and his loyal hobbit friends Sam (Astin), Pippin (Boyd) and Merry (Monaghan), must become the greatest hero the world has ever known to save the land and the people he loves.
- Based on the novel The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien.
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This is one of those films I actually saw in theaters back when it first came out. I, like so many others, bought into the hype that they were making J.R.R. Tolkien’s classic novel into a trilogy of movies. Directed by the guy who did the King Kong remake, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring began an epic series of films that fans still rave over. But, would watching this again now, 20 years after its release, still hold a fascination?
Elijah Wood takes the lead in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, and honestly feels like a bad casting choice. His one expression – wide-eyed wonder – gets old real quick, and while he tries really hard, he just lacks something that the role requires. His later teary-eyed sequences seem more akin to Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man – in other words, lots of Visine and no real emoting – and he just brings down the film as a w whole.
The rest of the cast, on the other hand, are mostly excellent choices. Ian McKellen seems a perfect fit for his Gandalf character, and his strong acting skills serve him well yet again. Hugo Weaving (The Matrix), Orlando Bloom (Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl), John Rhys-Davies (Raiders of the Lost Ark), Christopher Lee (Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones), Cate Blanchett, Ian Holm (The Fifth Element), Sean Bean (Game of Thrones (TV)) and Viggo Mortensen all excel at their parts, while Billy Boyd and Dominic Monaghan manage to provide some decent comic relief. Sean Astin, who gets the short end of the stick, role-wise, also does what he can, and while Liv Tyler isn’t quite up the level of the rest, her role is brief enough it doesn’t really matter. .
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring sets up a solid intro to the story of one Hobbit’s journey through a land unlike ours, in order to stop the evil Sauron and destroy the one true ring. While there is a lot to introduce – including a new land, lots of difficult names, and a whole fantasy culture, Jackson manages to impart a lot of information on the viewer without letting them get bored.
The biggest problem (aside from Wood’s woefully lacking acting) is Sean Astin’s character, who might as well be named Puppy. He doesn’t really have a mind of his own, instead dutifully following Wood’s Frodo around. He’s supposed to be a true friend, but he acts like a puppy not a friend, even going so far as to nearly drown himself at one point if Frodo won’t turn the boat around. It’s downright goofy, and while Astin does his best to treat his character like an actual human, Jackson’s insistence on his dog-like behavior is just saddening to behold. If this is Jackson’s idea of true friendship, well, he’s had a rough life.
It’s odd too, because Peter Jackson is obviously a huge fan of the story being told in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. It’s apparent in every frame, as even the most pain-staking sequences are framed and shot with obvious care (see more on framing below). Even when the special effects look a bit dated (like when Gandalf is thrown up or down – which occurs a couple of times during the film), the film, complete with epic music by Howard Shore, is obviously a labor of love from start to finish. This obvious fascination with the story is passed on to the viewer, making them more interested in this passion project than they would be in something like a Conan the Barbarian..
One of the most astounding aspects of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring is the shot framing. With several actors (despite their heights) playing characters that are much shorter than the others, the viewer never once doubts their size. That’s pretty impressive, considering the myriad of scenes (including battles) these characters are involved in. That’s some movie magic for you!
Set against the beautiful backdrop of New Zealand, Peter Jackson manages to bring J.R.R. Tolkien’s first part of his classic trilogy The Lord of the Rings to vibrant life. While there are missteps (like a miscast Wood and the puppy dog devotion of his best bud), the (mostly) stellar cast and entertaining storyline still make The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring a 3-hour movie worth watching. Could it have been better? Yeah – but it could have been a whole lot worse too.
