What's at the Movies

By Ian Pugh

‘The Lord of the Rings’ is masterful, but no masterpiece

I doubt that there has been any movie as eagerly anticipated this year more than Peter Jackson’s version of J.R.R. Tolkien’s book, “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.” After three years of rumors, sneak peeks, and previews, it’s finally here. It is not a film that rightfully garners the title of “film classic,” but it is a thoroughly good time, many cuts above the majority of the films you’ll find in the theaters today.

On his 111th birthday, a Hobbit named Bilbo Baggins (Ian Holm) decides to take a personal odyssey and wills a mysterious ring to his nephew Frodo (Elijah Wood). A wizard named Gandalf (Ian McKellen) confronts Frodo, who tells him that the ring has unspeakable power to it, and it has corrupted all who have wielded it. Furthermore, the long-dead Dark Lord Sauron, the villain who created the ring, is now very much alive, and he wants his weapon back. It is decided that the ring must be taken to Mount Doom, the volcano where it was forged, and tossed in. Frodo and Gandalf, along with fellow Hobbits Samwise (Sean Astin), Merry (Dominic Monaghan) and Pippin (Billy Boyd), must go on the long journey to the dark land of Mordor. However, Gandalf’s old wizard friend, Saruman (Christopher Lee) has pledged his allegiance to Sauron and is sending an army of monsters to obtain the ring.

Certainly the Tolkien fans out there will be giddy with delight in this new version of the novel. However, I felt that the film was missing something, and lacked an extra boost of energy. Sometimes the direction becomes shaky and unsure of itself, as if it’s afraid it’s not living up to expectations. Coupled with a running time of three hours, this hinders the film. There are a few extended lulls in the movie that could have easily been avoided. The editor could have been a little more judicious in snipping the film.

For the most part, though, the ends justify the means. The cast is uniformly great, the script is fun and easy to follow, and many scenes are exciting and attention grabbing. With every camera angle and special effect, the film brings the imagination to life.

In the end, “The Fellowship of the Ring” is an excellent movie, but certainly not deserving of all of the extremely lavish praise that has been brought upon it. Nevertheless, the Lord of the Rings trilogy has started off with promise, and hopefully the next two films will live up to, or exceed, this movie’s standards.