Lord of The Rings - The Fellowship of the Ring Review

Good Points
Superb story, great acting, brilliant special affects. The best fantasy film of all time.

Bad Points
Purists will miss the few things in the book that are missing from the movie, but at three hours long the director was amazingly faithful to the author's story.

General Comments
Fanatics of Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy as well as those who have not read the books will both love this movie. Exciting action built around a well told story, the movie will hold your attention from the opening scenes of the great Wizard Gandalf's visit to the hobbits in the Shire to the dramatic finish. This is truly a must see movie.

The storyline is a simple one, although the history behind it is much richer than can be explained in a short review. The movie does a fantastic job of laying the foundation, however, so that those who have not read the books (or it has been a long time) will easily be able to follow the plot. The basics: Sauron, a great evil demon, is seeking to recover the One Ring, a ring of power that would give him control over Middle Earth, the land the story takes place in. Middle Earth is a period in history where Men as a race are still relatively new in a land of Elves and Dwarves and others, such as hobbits. It is a hobbit, also called Halflings because of their short stature, that finds the One Ring and it is hobbits that are entrusted to keep the ring away from Sauron and attempt to destroy the ring by casting it into a pit of fire where it was made deep within Suaron's realm of Mordor. A fellowship of the wizard Gandalf, four hobbits, two Men, a Dwarf, and an Elf are formed and the quest is on. The fellowship is hunted and attacked by ever more dangerous foes and traitorous allies as they make their way toward Mordor.

The battles and chases are savage and graphic with little respite for the fellowship or the movie goer. The creatures that oppose them are downright terrifying. There is none of the simple slaughter of legions of "bad guys" that occurs in many current special effects laden movies such as "The Mummy" series or "Planet of the Apes". The bad guys are truly deadly and capable. This is both a scary and exhilarating story.

The casual fan of fantasy movies will love the action, suspense, and richly detailed realism of this story of Middle Earth. The hard core fan will see the origin of Dungeons and Dragons and the core of every strategy and role playing fantasy game up to and including Diablo. Lord of the Rings is where it all started, and the movie brings the story to vibrant life.