The Lord of the Rings - The Fellowship of the Ring Rating: Sorry, this product is not currently available. Cast: Ian McKellen Billy Boyd Orlando Bloom Sean Astin Complete Cast (12 total)

The Lord of the Rings - The Fellowship of the Ring Reviews

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Just as good as the books.
"One Ring to rule them All;" not to mention the world and the box office. The first installment of the epic "Lord of the Rings" trilogy does not fail to please and it even throws in something extra. Now, the first thing that you notice is the sets: wow. The year it took to set them all up in pre-production paid off. You have never seen locations like the Mount Doom, Hobbiton, Rivendell, Moria, Lothlorien or Argonath. Next, the cast shines through with heartfelt, moving performances. The actors include Ian MacKellan (Gandalf), Christopher Lee (Saruman), Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn), Elijah Wood (Frodo) Sean Bean (Boromir) and Sean Astin (Sam).

The plot is fairly simple: Frodo is a hobbit who inherits a powerful Ring made thousands of years ago by the dark lord Sauron, and if Sauron gets it back, he will rule Middle-Earth. Frodo, with the help of his companions Merry, Pippin, Sam, Gandalf, and Aragorn to name a few, go on a perilous flight to Sauron's stronghold in Mordor where the Ring can be destroyed. But all the while, Saruman is plotting to take the Ring for himself.

Director Peter Jackson, along with thousands of extras, production assistants, designers, writers and actors have brought the "Lord of the Rings" in all its splendor, emotion and granduer to the screen. This movie has set a new bar for fantasy movies, but will probably be reset by the next two movies. I highly recommend this movie to anyone. Lovers of Tolkein books or not.

A triumph for Tolkein geeks (and the rest of us too)
Friends of mine mock me because I've seen this five times. It's okay, they don't even know I've read book the twice that many.

Like other geeks I had high expectations for this movie and I wasn't disappointed. First, it's well-written. The writers keep Tolkein's epic language and manage to make it accessible. Good mix of comedy, drama, tragedy. Second, it's beautiful in every detail, best art direction and cinematography since Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Third, it's HUGE. There's a lot happening and usually two different parts of the plot are being developed at once. The action scenes always relate to the meaning of the story so there's stuff to think about while you watch one hair-raising set piece after another. Fourth, unlike the recent Star Wars disaster, it's a movie where the actors actually ACT. Elijah Wood and Ian McKellen give the best performances and keep the movie grounded in a spiritual struggle, even when the FX threaten to take over the movie. Other characters are less well-developed but the stage is set for their development in the second & third films. Anyway, even the more shallow characters here compare favorably with the original Star Wars flicks.

Bottom line: a triumph for fantasy geeks everywhere, not to mention a movie that will make the rest of you wonder why you thought Gladiator was all that.

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