The Lord of the Rings - The Fellowship of the Ring

J.R.R. Tolkien's epic fantasy trilogy The Lord of the Rings is notable because not only is it great reading, people also consider it great literature. Tolkien fans have been rabidly craving a big budget adaptation of his novels, and this new film is definitely worth the wait. Director Peter Jackson, who shot the three films that compromise the trilogy back-to-back, had the arduous task of condensing hundreds of pages into three movies. The Fellowship of the Ring, the first novel, is three hours, yet omits many things and adds others. Jackson manages to retain the spirit of the novel in their changes, so hardcore fans may actually be satisfied.

There is a lot of plot in Fellowship. Aside from Frodo's quest, Jackson is trying to bring forth much of the current political upheaval in Middle Earth. Heck, he recaps The Hobbit in about 10 minutes. Unfortunately, some of the detail does not come through, but Jackson does hew closely to his overall theme. Apparent through the entire movie is the underlying battle between good and evil, and the seemingly impossible odds that Frodo must face. Also, because of time constraints, Fellowship is not able to delve deeply into many of the supporting characters. The one with the most screen time is Aragorn, the last heir to a kingdom who decides to aid Frodo. This is Wood's largest role to date, and he is up to the task. Sadly, other good actors like Ian Holm, Cate Blanchett, and John Rhys-Davies do not have enough time to really flex their acting muscles. At the same time, Jackson needs to lay the foundation for the next two films, so he includes small segments with even more characters. Overall, this is a must-see.