Lord of the Rings The Fellowship of the Ring Review
/
The Lord of the Rings The Fellowship of the Ring is the first movie in the Lord of the Rings Trilogy directed by Peter Jackson. This trilogy would come to be know as one of the greatest trilogies of all time on film. Based on the writings of J.R.R Tolkien, Fellowship of the Ring is a must watch. Here is why.
What Version to Watch?
This is one of the series of movies out there that has multiple release versions but I can say that it comes down to 2 versions. The theatrical release and the extended edition release. Any releases follow these two sets with additional touch ups and color correcting as time progresses and the movies are transitioned from DVD to Blu-ray and now 4k.
If you are new to Lord of the Rings, I would suggest that you watch the theatrical version of the movies starting with the Fellowship of the Ring. This is because the movies are already epically long and the extended edition might just be to much for someone not super into the world of Lord of the Rings just yet.
However, if you are like me and are looking for the crazy deep version of the film, the extended edition is the only way to watch it. As helpful or unhelpful as it may be, I will be speaking about the movie in it’s extended format.
You can check of the differences between the two films here!
Fellowship of the Ring’s Cast
The cast for the Lord of the Rings Fellowship of the Ring was fantastic and included:
Elijah Wood as Frodo
Sean Astin as Samwise Gamgee
Ian McKellan as Galdalf the Grey
Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn
John Rhys-Davies as Gimli
Orlando Bloom as Legolas
Sean Bean as Boromir
Billy Boyd as Pippin
Domonic Monaghan as Mary
Along with many other actors throughout the movie, these characters specifically make up the Fellowship. The chemistry that develops between all these characters can be felt even though this is just the first movie in the trilogy. Every actor embodies their characters well and makes them believable.
A good example of why these characters mesh together so well is with Frodo and Sam. These two hobbits are introduced after the intro of the film. Frodo Baggins is the the heir to Bag End (currently owned by his uncle Bilbo Baggins), a Hobbit Hole at the top of the hill in Hobbiton. Samwise Gamgee is the gardener for this property, but is also a good friend to Frodo.
Frodo finds the grey wizard Gandalf in Bag End some time after the wizard had left the Shire in search for answers. Sam worried about Frodo eavesdrops on the conversation Frodo and Gandalf are having. He is then compelled by Gandalf to accompany Frodo on the journey to take the mysterious ring to the land of the elves.
The two hobbits are inseparable through the entire movie and it pays off as the movie and the trilogy progress.
Another standout character is Ian McKellen’s portrayal of Gandalf the Grey. He embodies the role of Gandalf to the point that when most people think of Ian McKellen, they think of his portrayal of this character. This is really important as Gandalf when people think of a fantasy wizard think of the grey wizard that J.R.R. Tolkien created. Even when I read the books now, I cannot think of a different face that fits the role better.
Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn was also masterfully casted. Viggo pulls off a different feeling Aragorn than what is portrayed in the books. A more humble and mysterious ranger. I think that this idea for the character was a welcome change by Peter Jackson from the book. It did not compromise the story that Tolkien told, but did make the character more likeable and relatable.
Where Was Fellowship of the Ring Filmed?
A part of what makes Fellowship of the Ring so fantastic is the amount of practical events and on side locations that were filmed in this movie. The filming of Fellowship of the Ring took place in New Zealand and even had a practical set for the Shire that can still be visited today.
These kinds of details are what allows this movie to age so well and feel so real. The work that Weta Workshop did for this film from scenery to miniatures for some of the larger structures that were later coined “biggatures” were fantastic.
I do not think that it’s any coincidence that Weta workshop works on some of the greatest films created. When I learned that they had also later done work for Blade Runner 2049, I was not surprised as they used some of the same techniques that they did with Lord of the Rings.
So when practical locations could not get the job done, these miniatures were so well created that they could be put into the movie without looking like miniatures at all.
What Is Not So Great About Fellowship of the Ring?
Even though this movie ranks up there as one of my favorites of all time, it’s not without it’s flaws. Despite the movie coming out in 2001, the visual effects in the Mines of Moria are beginning to show their age. At the time of release these were pretty incredible.
There are several effects that are used in the following sequence where the characters are running to the Khazad Dum. This effect is seen in later parts of the trilogy as well but seem a little more polished then they do here.
Finally there is a slight pacing problem with the later half of the Fellowship of the Ring that goes on for just to long and makes the movie feel much longer despite being the shortest in the entire trilogy.
But I feel that I am nitpicking here. There is so much to love about this film so let me get back to that.
What Is So Great About Fellowship of the Ring?
There are so many thing that I can list that I love about this film. Fellowship of the Ring seamlessly brings viewers into the world of Middle Earth and makes it easy to both understand the world and become attached and want to know more. It begins a history of what is leading up to the events, and them takes a sharp turn to an ideal world that is the area of Middle Earth called the Shire.
Along with this comes a fantastic score by composer Howard Shore. The soundtrack to this film is one that is instantly recognizable and so well fitting to the world with it’s ability to be upbeat and happy, to it’s lowest low wither sadness and despair. The soundtrack along is something that I even seek out when I want something that just seeps fantasy.
The characters as stated before are well fleshed out and rich with character. The casting across the board is well done.
the practical effects in this movie are done really well. The race of halflings called hobbits when put in scenes with other actors are done in a way where on set they appear smaller than the standard human form. This also lead to some sets being blown up to larger sizes, and set pieces shrunk down to appear small just like the hobbits. The forced perspective was a brilliant way to handle all of this and was executed really well.
The Story though does not capture everything that Fellowship of the Ring had in it’s book, was still doing it’s best to stay true to the story. I think that Peter Jackson did a good job making sure to make the story his own whilst still protecting the source material and putting important lines in the film that fans of the books would expect.
Why You Should Watch Lord of the Rings Fellowship of the Ring
This movie is a love letter to the Lord of the Rings books by J.R.R. Tolkien. They do the books many justices while still making them entertaining for the masses. The movie is epic in scale and thick with fantasy that the books demand. The world is easily realized through the course of the film and it becomes incredibly easy to become attached to each of these characters.
As the first entry in the trilogy, it pulls off what is needed to get me interested in the second movie that follows Lord of the Rings The Two Towers. It has the tone that the other movies will not have the opportunity to provide as the story progresses and gives viewers a sense of something to protect as well.
I absolutely love this film, in fact, it’s probably my favorite of the the Lord of the Rings movies overall just because of how well it achieves all it sets out to accomplish. Do yourself a favor if you have not seem this trilogy yet and go out and watch it.
If you liked this review, stick around for future reviews for Lord of the Rings The Two Towers and Lord of the Rings the Return of the King.
We also did book reviews for the Lord of the Rings Trilogy that you can check out by visiting here!
The Lord of the Rings series by J.R.R. Tolkien is so much larger than just the trilogy that we see in the book stores and the theaters. Today we are going to answer the question, How to Read the Lord of the Rings Series?