Rating: Summary: Five Stars to Rule Them All!!! Review: Solid five for this one! The "Fellowship of the Ring" is definately one of the best films in history. The special effects, lush settings, dark imagery, and epic story put other sci-fi and fantasy flicks to shame. Luke Skywalker, watch out for Frodo Baggins. The plot remains almost exactly to the book: Frodo the hobbit is given the quest to destroy the evil ring of the dark lord Sauron, and is joined by a motley bunch of adventurers to form the Fellowship of the Ring. Gandalf, the ancient wizard, gives guidance and wisdom. Legolas the Elf and Gimli the Dwarf, warriors among their kind, are well acted. Boromir the human is the heroic guy with a dark side to him. Aragorn, a.k.a. Strider, is so *HOT*. Sam, Pippin, and Merry, the three bumbling hobbits, provide comic relief as happy-go-lucky fish out of the water in a dangerous quest. The bad guys were convincingly evil and freaky, not like the stupid disco-chanting orcs in the 1970s cartoon, "Return of the King." The orcs were marvelously gross and ugly as they were meant to be. Saruman is excellent as Gandalf's rival. The ringwraiths are all good and spooky. The Eye of Sauron watches the viewers in their seats, and Balrog is great as a genuinely dark, evil spirit. The special effects themselves don't dominate the whole film. This movie brings the Tolkein characters and their Middle Earth world to stunning and breathtaking life. The characters become people one can relate to and it is easy to get into the story. (When Frodo was crying I just wanted to go up to the screen and hug him!!!) There is some controversy over the character of Arwen and her getting a bigger role in the movie than in the books. This was basically necessary, since she is the girlfriend of one of the lead male characters and the movie somehow has to establish her character. She IS a warrior woman, but not a fake Lara Croft or Xena take-off. A few other characters from the book are completely left out, but only for time reasons. With a whopping three hours already, it would be impossible to have the book down word for word. "Fellowship of the Ring" is sure to satisfy die-hard Tolkein fans without confusing newcomers. The movie goes into great detail and explanation without getting too slow. The chase sequences and epic battle scenes, especially in the second half of the film, take the viewer on a wild, heart-thumping, suspenseful roller coaster ride. Definately a must-see!
Rating: Summary: Intense, spectacular movie Review: I've never been a big Tolkien fan. I read the Fellowship of the Ring -- or part of it -- years ago and wasn't all that impressed. I wasn't inspired to read the other books in the trilogy. All that being said, this was a fabulous movie. To be sure, it dragged a bit in places. The beginning was slow and Hobbittville -- whatever it's called -- bored me. But the action scenes were intense and frightening. I could feel my skin crawl when the ringwraiths were on the screen The settings -- especially the various castles and underground cities -- were incredible. There are visions of heaven and hell, and they're as convincing as any I've ever seen. This is no movie for children. The violence was graphic and frightening. Somehow it was all very believable and serious. The heroes were really heroes and the villians were really evil and it seemed important that the good guys won. This is one of the best action flics I've ever seen. Right up there with Crouching Tiger and Terminator and Last of the Mohicans. I'm surprised that an eccentric fantasy like LOTR could be turned into such a good movie. Or maybe it's a great movie. Let's see how it holds up when I see it a second and third time.
Rating: Summary: Lord Of The Rings kicks Harry Potter's butt!!!!!!! Review: This film was fantastic it was always exciting and there was always something happening all the time. The effects were fabulous and the creatures in the movie were well created. Even though the film was 3 hours long it diddn't bore me- because i thought at first i was going to get bored sitting for 3 hours watching this film but it did not bore me at all because there was always something new happening and i thouroughly enjoyed the film. This film is loads better than Harry Potter because Harry Potter is mainly a kids film as this one is for kids and adults. I can't wait for the next one to come which is 'The Two Towers' in christmas 2002 so untill the next one comes out i am going to buy the second book called 'The Two Towers' and read it to find out what happens because the suspence is killing me!
Rating: Summary: A film adaptation that does the book proud. Review: I have been a Lord of the Rings fan since I was 6 years old; that's when The Hobbit appeared on CBS, and Ralph Bakshi's animated Lord of the Rings hit theaters. It wasn't long before I was nagging my mom to buy me the books, so I could see if they were as good. (They were better.) Tolkien's imaginative and groundbreaking books opened my young mind up to a new world; one filled with mythical quests, brave heroes, strange creatures, and vile villains. I tried to keep my expectations for Director Peter Jackson's film low, so I wouldn't be disappointed, but enthusiasm got the better of me, and I was ripe for a letdown.....one mis-step and Jackson could ruin the whole thing.....and he hits it out of the park!!! WOW!!!! From the opening moments, it's easy to see Jackson's love for the books. Attention is paid to even the most minute detail, and book-purists will be glad to hear that he has crafted maybe the most faithful page-to-screen adaptation ever, bar none. I'm sure there were things in the book that were left out, but other than Tom Bombadil, I can't remember anything. For the uninitiated, LOTR follows Frodo Baggins, a Hobbit, on his quest to throw the evil "One Ring" into the fires of Mount Doom, where it was forged, thus freeing Middle-Earth from an age of darkness. He is accompanied on this quest by a fellowship of Hobbits, an Elf, a Dwarf, 2 Men, and a Wizard. They are pursued by various and sundry servants of the Dark Lord Sauron, who forged the Ring, and his underling, the traitor Saruman (Perfectly played by the Legendary Christopher Lee). The performances are all strong, especially Sean Bean as the Warrior Boromir, Viggo Mortensen as Strider, and Ian McKellen as Gandalf. I thought Hugo Weaving made a great Elrond. The effects are mindblowing! I was totally taken in by the way they made full-sized actors into Hobbits, and seeing the large John Rhyes-Davies as Gimli the Dwarf was incredible. The HUGE battle scene in the beginning, and the hordes of Orcs in the Mines of Moria show that, if used properly, CGI can look totally realistic. I've been a Peter Jackson fan since The Frighteners and Dead/Alive, but when I heard that he was going to be directing the Rings movies, I wasn't sure..... Well, I am now. If The Two Towers were playing now, I would have gone as soon as LOTR let out. He did that good a job. Bravo, Mr. Jackson, for crafting one of the most entertaining and visually stunning pictures I have ever seen. Now if only I didn't have to wait another year for part II......
Rating: Summary: BREATH TAKING Review: Breath taking - this is the best film ever (ever) if you have not seen it then you should go to your film straight away. I'm flabbergasted, it'll totally make you cry. The theme of the movie is completely different to what i expected go take your whole family to see it over Christmas (even take your granny and aunts and cousins and friends) You will love it and thats a PROMISE ...
Rating: Summary: 5 Stars doesn't come close....It's far better! Review: What a fantastic world Peter Jackson and crew have created! I can't begin to imagine this movie with a different cast; remove a member, and it wouldn't have been the same. I've been a fan of Tolkien most of my life - I first read 'The Hobbit' when I was 10 (required reading by teacher - Thanks, Ms. Skinner!) and have been lost and found in fantasy ever since. After patiently (not so patiently?) waiting more than a year and a half for this film, I can say that it not only lived up to my expectations; it has far surpassed them. The decision to leave out Tom Bombadil was no big deal; he was considered by Tolkien himself to be unimportant to the narrative and was well aware that he was a 'discordant ingredient' in the story. I feel that the movie worked well by leaving him out, and that to include him would probably have been too much and detracted from the rest of the story. If you haven't seen this film yet, please do. To miss seeing this one on the big screen is like trying to watch the sun set with your eyes closed. Please don't let negative reviews taint your true feelings about this film, because the story, the acting, the scenery and the special effects are all combined perfectly. It is a must see, and perhaps one of the greatest movies of all time. (I want a hobbit house all my own!)
Rating: Summary: Much better then expected Review: I - like many, viewed the release of LOTR with a bit of aprehension. My concern was simple - there's no way Jackson could create a film that would include the entire story - therefore what was to be written out? However as the film unfolded, I found myself concentrating on his version of the story without being overly concerned about the missing details. Jackson actually did a great job of continuity in the time (too short IMHO) alloted. No "Two Towers" preview was disapointing.
Rating: Summary: One of the Best Movies I've Ever Seen Review: I saw this twice in the first three nights it was out. I've always loved the books, and was worried that Hollywood might ruin something good, as it has the potential to do. The Fellowship of the Ring is one of the best book-to-movie transitions I've ever seen. The casting is phenomenal, as are many performances; the audience I saw it with cheered at the end. Highly recommended.
Rating: Summary: Movie of the Year? Review: I should confess at the beginning that as a child of nine I read The Lord of the Rings. My aunt read The Hobbit to me when I was six or so, and then introduced me to Tolkien's longer work some years later. I loved the book as a child, and as an adult have returned from time to time to this bit of "comfort literature" in which a grown-up can certainly find new things. I had expected to be disappointed with Peter Jackson's film, not because I am some sort of Tolkien purist, but because as I get older and know more of the world, it seems harder to find real wonder in film. The first Star Wars movies created the contemporary notion of the "blockbuster," spawning summer after summer of over-hyped junkfood cinema. For every Raiders of the Lost Ark there are dozens of films like Independence Day, Tomb Raider, and Armageddon that promise the world and deliver an empty experience. During the five minute prologue, which explains the history of the Ring, I feared endless esoteric exposition and tedium. My concerns were misplaced. The opening scenes with Ian McKellen and Ian Holm are touching and immersive; one feels one is seeing old friends reunited in some fantastic world. Rings only got better after that, revealing itself to be one of the most impressive bits of movie-making I have ever seen. The film reminds me of some of the great epics and adventure movies of the past, flicks like Star Wars, King Kong, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and Lawrence of Arabia. Virtually everything about the film works very well: acting, cinematography, special effects, and editing all serve the story and the development of the characters. Nothing is wasted, and one cannot help but be impressed with Jackson's work on Rings. Jackson has gone to extraordinary lengths to faithfully adapt the book while creating an excellent film, and all the major themes from the novel are there. He should be applauded for this, not picked to pieces. I am annoyed by Tolkien fundamentalists who seem to think that every word written in Rings is somehow sacred; they should be very thankful that Jackson has made the changes that he did, changes that are faithful to the complexities of the story yet create a very effective movie. I suggest that Tolkien purists not see the film if the changes will bother them.
Rating: Summary: I liked It Review: I will bw quick. I have loved the books for a long time. This movie was spectacular as a movie. It is not the book. If you want to experience the book... read the book. If you want a great movie see this movie. Nuff said
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