Nov 2, 2016 - In all honesty, you shouldn't exactly 'start' with LOTR. You should really start with the Hobbit trilogy first. If you do, it'll make the LOTR series seem a lot more.
An ancient Ring thought lost for centuries has been found, and through a strange twist in fate has been given to a small Hobbit named Frodo. When Gandalf discovers the Ring is in fact the One Ring of the Dark Lord Sauron, Frodo must make an epic quest to the Cracks of Doom in order to destroy it! However he does not go alone.
He is joined by Gandalf, Legolas the elf, Gimli the Dwarf, Aragorn, Boromir and his three Hobbit friends Merry, Pippin and Samwise. Through mountains, snow, darkness, forests, rivers and plains, facing evil and danger at every corner the Fellowship of the Ring must go.
Their quest to destroy the One Ring is the only hope for the end of the Dark Lords reign!
The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring is an epic fantasy adventure film released in 2001 and is an adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's first volume of his The Lord Of The Rings trilogy. It was filmed at the same time as its two sequels - and - by Peter Jackson in his native New Zealand and is considered to be the benchmark for fantasy films and an achievement in film-making in general.
Eagerly awaited by fans of the books, the film became a box office smash and secured a staggering thirteen nominations at the Academy Awards. Collectively, the three films have earned around $3 billion worldwide, making them among the most successful in cinematic history. The film opens with a prologue in the Second Age of Middle Earth, depicting the Dark Lord Sauron forging a secret ring that would help bring Middle Earth to its knees. In a desperate attempt to prevent this, an army of Men and Elves march to Mount Doom to battle Sauron and his vast Orc army. During the battle, the young prince Isildur is able to separate the Ring from Sauron but due to the Ring's malevolent influence over him, Isildur keeps it for himself and fails to destroy it. With Sauron defeated, Isildur wields the Ring until he is slain by Orcs. The Ring then becomes lost for millennia until it is accidentally discovered by the creature known as Gollum.
But in time, the Ring abandons him also and falls into the possession of the unlikeliest individual imaginable - the hobbit Bilbo Baggins. Sixty years later and Bilbo is persuaded by the wizard Gandalf The Grey to part with the Ring and reluctantly, he agrees to pass it onto his nephew Frodo. By the time Frodo has it, Gandalf has learned of the Ring's true nature and is determined to see it destroyed. But Sauron's forces are everywhere - the Ring calls out to mysterious black-hooded riders while Gandalf's companion Saruman The White is revealed to be allied with Sauron. But what hope can a mere hobbit have in the face of overwhelming odds?
Over the years, I can count on one hand how many times that I've sat and watched a film in something close to awe. The first time you watch The Fellowship Of The Ring(which demands to be seen on a big screen) when it opens with the first of many battle scenes, you never find yourself wondering who is computer generated or how many hours it took to get every single man, elf and orc just so.
Because, in truth, none of it looks computer generated. It is as though Jackson himself was there and he throws us into the midst of battle - shields bashing, swords ringing, arrows arcing through the sky in numbers so vast that the sun disappears. It is a statement of intent by Jackson - there will be no half-measures with this adaptation. It will be pure and faithful and a sight to behold. It is, in short, intoxicating.
Of course, viewers these days take such fancy visual gimmickry for granted but I can think of few films that utilise CG better than Jackson does here. Even the Star Wars prequels or look amateurish by comparison. But that tells only half the story. The cast, all of them universally believable in their roles, all look the part not just with their faultless costumes but even the height discrepancies are seamless.
And if you aren't familiar with the story (as I wasn't when I first watched it) then prepare yourself for a truly epic voyage - betrayal, loss, redemption, loyalty and courage and this is just the first film of three! It is a rare film that, once seen, is never forgotten. Right, here goes. The film obviously doesn't include everything in the book as to do so would probably add on another hours worth of running time, at least.
So Tolkien purists might be upset that there is no Tom Bombadil or that battles have a modern choreography and feel to them. The pace of the story is also sped up considerably from the books (not that it felt like that to me!) but again, the reasons for doing so are understandable. The only other thing I disliked was the feeling that I felt the character of Gollum was being teased before his full appearance in the next film. His brief scenes are more like cameos and he is never shown in full light, always in shadow or obscured somehow.
To make up for this, Jackson unleashes his furious Balrog but again, there is an annoying lack of clarity to this fiery beast. Maybe I'm being picky but that's all I can think of. One final thought - this is obviously the first of three films so don't expect any sort of real conclusion. You're only just getting started by the time the ending rolls around.
Even if fantasy films aren't to your taste, The Fellowship Of The Ring is a breath-taking, sweeping epic that redefines modern cinema and sets the standard for other films of this type to follow. Jackson and his army of cast and crew have delivered a magnificent picture, one that somehow managed to satisfy the rabid cravings of geeks like me the world over. It is a movie made without compromise - every scene, every shot, every detail is given nothing less than 100% attention and care and it really shows. If the words 'fantasy epic' put you off then you're missing out on one of the best films for a generation. Great For: fantasy geeks, fans of cinema, New Zealand natives, lovers of the original books Not So Great For: fans of Harry Potter or Twilight, people with short attention spans, people without an HD TV at home.
Obvious comparisons with both The Two Towers and Return Of The King are inevitable but in truth, not that valuable - each one is just as good as The Fellowship Of The Ring and as a whole, the series will remain landmark movies for years to come. It's a pity that Jackson's second Middle-Earth trilogy, The Hobbit, never quite recaptured the same magic But what if you want to watch something different? The eight Harry Potter movies offer a more modern take on the traditional world of wizards and monsters and are surprisingly good films in their own right.
Or if your attention span only lasts sixty minutes then the TV series Game Of Thrones might also fit your requirements, if it is considerably more explicit and violent. But if your idea of a fantasy film is stuff like or then it's time to leave the Eighties behind and get up to speed. This is as good as it gets, end of discussion. For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: Show Details Necessary HubPages Device ID This is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons. Login This is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service. Google Recaptcha This is used to prevent bots and spam. Akismet This is used to detect comment spam.
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