Grade:  A

Director:  Peter Jackson		Released:  December 2001
Writer:  Frances Walsh, from J.R.R. Tolkien's book		MPAA Rating:  PG-13
Players:  Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Viggo Mortensen, Sean Astin		Running time:  208 minutes

Ratings System

Part of me wants to wait to write a review of Fellowship until after I've seen all three movies in the trilogy.  The ending is really just the beginning of the next film, and it makes me feel like I've only seen the first act of a three act play.  So it hardly seems fair to review the play after only seeing the first act.

Nevertheless, the first entry in the trilogy comes off very well.  Much of it is magical and enchanting, with excellent action sequences mixed in with some solid character introductions.  However, I wasn't exactly riveted to the screen at all times.  There were some parts that could have moved along a little faster.  And as is always the case, there are things in the book that don't make it to the screen.  But enough details DO make it, so as to make the film really reflect the spirit of the book.

I really loved the creatures in this movie.  The ringwraiths, the orcs, the elves, the hobbits, the wizards; well done, all of them.  I especially enjoyed the look and the handling of the ringwraiths, they are haunting in appearance and in sound.  That shrieking is horrendous.

Many of the action scenes are truly tension-filled, and that's a nice change from the usual "suspense" that movies have given us lately.  In particular, the scene where the fellowship must cross a gap in a staircase is very suspenseful.  And shortly after that, when Gandalf battles the fire beast, balrog, is another great action scene.

The makeup, the sets, the costumes, the locations, the visual effects, the sound, the acting, the direction, and the cinematography are all top rate.  However, I just can't give it an A, because of it's failure to consistently hold my attention, for the incomplete feeling I had when leaving the theatre, and for the thought that Tolkien never intended hobbits to participate in so many epic battles in such grand fashion.  I suspect if he could have been in the editing room for this movie, he might have requested Jackson to tone it down a little and let Frodo sing a song or two.

Update (11/26/02):
I watched the new extended director's cut available on DVD, which is better than the original version, so I'm upgrading my original grade of B+ to an A-.

- crocoPuffs