In my first review of the Lord of the Rings on Blu-Ray, I discussed the merits of the Blu-Ray copies of the films. In this post, I will review the films themselves, and these will be the theatrical releases, not the Extended Versions. Not yet anyway. But anyway...here we go:
The Fellowship of the Ring
"One ring to rule them all. One ring to find them. One ring to bring them all, and in the darkness, bind them." In 2001, New Line Cinema in association with Wing Nut Films released the first film in the epic Lord of the Rings Trilogy, created by J.R.R Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring. The film opens as men, dwarves and elves were given rings of power, by the Dark Lord Sauron. In secret, he forges a master ring, the One Ring, through which he gains control over all others. The world of Middle Earth is plunged into darkness as the lands fall to the power of the dark lord. But there was resistance; a Last Alliance of men and elves challenged Sauron at the foot of Mount Doom, in the land of Mordor. The king of Gondor was killed in battle, but his son, Isildur, took up his father's sword, and cut the One Ring from Sauron's hand. Isildur took the One Ring as his own. Eventually, the ring betrayed Isildur and he was killed in an ambush by orcs. The ring was lost for 2,500 years, until it was picked up by a creature named Gollum. The ring kept Gollum alive for 500 years, biding its time. It eventually abandoned Gollum only to end up in the hands of a Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins(Sir Ian Holm). Rumors of Sauron's fortress of Barad Dur being rebuilt in the land of Mordor persisted. As it turns out, when Sauron created the One Ring, he bound his life force to the ring, and it survived because of Isildur. Sauron has returned and seeks the One Ring to destroy the world. Enter Frodo Baggins(Elijah Wood), Samwise Gamgee(Sean Astin), and Gandalf The Grey(Sir Ian McKellen). They set out to find a safe place where the One Ring can be hidden from Sauron.
There's a lot that's going on the first 40 minutes when The Fellowship of the Rings opens. The story gets complicated as the characters themselves are complex and fallible, which makes them easier to relate to, particularly the Hobbits played by Elijah Wood(Frodo), Sean Astin(Samwise Gamgee), Dominic Monaghan(Merry), and Billy Boyd(Pippin). They get thrown into situations that's way above and beyond what they are used to dealing with, and we see them afraid and eventually find their courage. This is helped in part by Ian McKellan's character of Gandalf, a wizard who takes a liking to the Hobbits of the Shire(as well as their leaves, which they love to smoke), and Aragorn(Viggo Mortensen), a ranger that is truly more than he appears. They eventually find their way to Rivendell, home of the Elven Lord Elrond(Hugo Weaving) and his daughter, Arwen(Liv Tyler). It is eventually decided that the One Ring must be destroyed, and the only way to do that is to take it back to Mount Doom, and throw it into the fire that created it. A Fellowship of nine is created, which includes four hobbits, Gandalf, Aragorn, Boromir of Gondor(Sean Bean), the elf Legolas(Orlando Bloom), and the Dwarf, Gimli(John-Rhys Davies). Not only do they have to avoid Sauron's forces, but also Saruman(Sir Christopher Lee)as well.
As I said, the story gets more complicated as the film and trilogy continue, but The Fellowship establishes the world of Middle Earth and the principle characters, both good and evil. It also shows how easily men are corrupted as the One Ring slowly drives Boromir insane, and threatens to destroy the group from within. The film is very well acted on all sides, especially Elijah Wood, whom I never would of suspected of playing a Hobbit. But he was the right person for that role. Sir Ian McKellen was a revelation as Gandalf. As soon as you first see him, you don't see Ian McKellen, you see Gandalf, that's how much he embodies the role. Same goes for Viggo Mortensen, who plays Aragorn. On the villain side, you've got Christopher Lee, who is known for playing villains, specifically Dracula. But he brings a gravitas to the role that is menacing. And he does it very well. He starts out as a good guy, but eventually betrays Gandalf and basically everybody else for his own selfish desires. The themes of betrayal, love, courage and loss are well-represented here, especially in the third act of the film.
What I love about The Lord of the Rings is the complexity of the stories and the fact that Tolkien invented two separate languages specifically for his stories that take place in Middle Earth. THAT is dedication, but it works beautifully on screen. The action sequences are amazing, from the opening epic battle sequence at the foot of Mount Doom to the final fight with the Uruk Hai, on the river of Argonath. The CGI effects were fantastic back in 2001, and they still are. But one of the biggest things I love about the Lord of the Rings is the landscape of Middle Earth. The Lord of the Rings films were shot in New Zealand, and it's simply stunning. Watching the films, it's as though you're looking AT Middle Earth, aside from some matte paintings and such, it was all filmed on location. At nearly three hours*, it still doesn't feel too long as it's paced perfectly. Peter Jackson has done an incredible job with these films. I'll review The Two Towers and The Return of the King in separate posts. But I will get to them. I give The Fellowship of the Ring a perfect 10/10.
*This is the theatrical cut of the film, the extended version runs a half-hour longer. I will review the extended films at a later date.
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