I know, another bloody LOTR review.... (The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (DVD))

Member Name: johnny8977

Product:	The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (DVD)
Date:	08/03/02 (77 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Rivetting, Excellent cast, Non intrusive special effects

Disadvantages: Gimli, Slow to begin

OK, let me start of by saying this is my first review EVER, so apologies if its not very good : )

Right, first things first - I'm a big Lord Of The Rings fan, and have been waiting for this film to be made since I first read the book. However, I think this has made me a more honest judge of it because if it wasn't very good, I'd be very upset.

But don't worry - it is good. If you haven't read the book, you may sit through the first hour or so thinking "bloody hell, another 2 hours of this". But it picks up, trust me. The first 10 mins give some background to the story itself that isn't explained until about halfway through The Fellowship of the Ring (FOTR) book. So, when the film starts properly, you have some idea of the background.

The story of FOTR is quite simple - Frodo Baggins has inherited a ring from his uncle Bilbo. It transpires this ring is in fact very powerful and if the villain of the story, an evil being called Sauron, were to ever get his hands on this ring, he would easily be able to conquer the world (Middle Earth). It is therefore eventually decided Frodo, along with 8 others, such attempt to destroy this ring. The catch being that the any way to destroy it is to throw it into a kind of volcano that just happens to be in Sauron's back yard so to speak. FOTR follows the first part of this journey.

The cast of the film is more or less perfect. This will not matter so much to people who have not read the book as they will have no preconceptions, however if you have read it you will have your own pictures of the characters in your head and would feel pretty gutted if the movie versions didn't match up. But they do - mostly. Gimli just doesn't seem right. He develops a Scottish accent for some reason and comes across as a bit thick. Aragorn is played well and all, but he just doesn't convey the depth and wisdom of the character in the book. Again, these will not be no
ticeable to anyone who hasn't read the book.

In LOTR, FOTR there are really two films - a 3 hour action film with the most spectacular scenery and special effects. And there's the hidden, more tragic story as told in the book. You can only really get the real story if you're read the book, as some of the concepts and ideas are just too difficult to translate film. But that doesn't mean people who haven't read it can't enjoy it.

I've seen it twice and each time it was completely different. The first time it was just like an action film, the second I appreciated the story more. In my first screening, people actually gasped at the sad bits (I won't spoil anything) and cheered when the bad guys were defeated. And these weren't kids or "youngsters". These were regular adults who had become so engrossed in a story/film they literally couldn't help it. I've seen a lot of films and this was the first that I've seen that caused a public outburst of emotion amongst so many people.

The bottom line is that FOTR is unlike any film that has gone before. And I don't mean that from a special effects point of view or action. I mean from an emotion roller coaster/entertainment point of view.

And it can only get better and the nest two episodes, The Two Towers and Return of the King, are much better!

Summary: