Had three to pick from today and MAN am I glad I picked this one!  I must tell you that I have never been much of a "Rings" fan and though I watched all three of the animated movies, I really never quite "got it".  I do now.  This was a GREAT picture!  A HUGE picture!  I am right on the edge of using the word EPIC!  The sets were fabulous!  The scenery was beautiful!  The acting was great!  The special effects were fantastic and the story was solid.  If I had to find a fault it would be that some (not much) of the dialogue was hard to understand and it was a bit long though never boring.

Elijah Wood plays Frodo the Hobbit who is entrusted with the monumental task of returning a Ring that threatens world existence to the sinister, dark place that it was made.  He joins with Sean Bean (Ronin), Viggo Mortensen (G.I. Jane), Sean Astin (Rudy) and others to become "The Fellowship Of The Rings" and sets out on his quest.  It is a quest FILLED with obstacles in the form of monsters and villains of every shape and style.  This picture reminded me of old movie serials where our hero must overcome HUGE odds, time after time after time.  These guys are up to the task.  They are a conglomeration of hobbits, elves, dwarves, humans and a wizard.  Every time we started to think of the little people as human, the director would give us a perspective shot to show how short they were.  It worked.  It ALL worked but I must warn you.  It IS a trilogy and this is the first part.  When it ended, I was pissed!  Not because I felt cheated but because I WANTED TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENED!  I will be there on the FIRST day for the second installment.

"Keep it secret.  Keep it safe!"

RECOMMENDATION:  Not being a purest I can't vouch for the accuracy to the book.  What I can tell you is this is a FABULOUS picture with Oscar written all over it!  SEE IT!

TWO MYSTICAL, MIDDLE EARTH THUMBS STRAIGHT UP!  (On stilts!)

Movie Review © 2001 by Terry Anderson