Average Rating: 
Rating:  - An astonishing masterpiece.
Considered both as fantasy adventure and as an adaptation of a beloved literary classic, Peter Jackson's film of "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" sets new standards for cinematic excellence. Everything about this film feels exactly right, from the casting to the screenplay to the special effects. The last are amazing, putting to shame anything George Lucas has come up with, and yet they always serve to advance the story; unlike Lucas, there's never any hint that Jackson is merely playing with his toys. Jackson shows great respect for Tolkien's text, but not slavish devotion. Certain characters--such as the lovable Tom Bombadil and Frodo's poisonous Aunt Lobelia--are missing, and Tolkien would be chagrined to find that the little poems and songs he loved to write are nowhere quoted. But if Jackson gives short shrift to Tolkien's whimsy, he more than makes up for that by giving us Tolkien's intensity, pathos and moral vision absolutely undiluted. Above all, Jackson never forgets that Tolkien's chief emphasis was always on the characters he created. Jackson casts wonderful actors to play those characters and--again unlike Lucas--he actually allows them to give performances. How wonderful to find the great Sir Ian McKellen, a uniquely commanding and charismatic actor, as Gandalf, or the charming and touching Elijah Wood as Frodo. You can go straight down the list--Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn, Sean Astin as Sam, Ian Holm as Bilbo, Cate Blanchett as Galadriel--and find nothing but perfection. This is one of the very few big-budget blockbusters that unqualifiedly deserves its success, and all we can do now is look forward with excitement to the release of "The Two Towers" in 2002 and "The Return of the King" in 2003. Like the books they came from, these three fillms will be cherished by future generations.
Rating: - Compelling and thoughtful
Considering the amount of detail and background that "The Lord of the Rings" books encompasses, the film might have suffered a "Dune"-like outcome: too much drama crammed into too little time. Happily, Peter Jackson's movie proves that theory wrong (at least here), and delights the Tolkien reader with visuals to match the imagination.All the characters are well-acted. Gandalf's role as wizard and protector of the Shire comes across strongly in Ian McKellen's lined face. Viggo Mortensen does a fine job with Aragorn, the Ranger and future king - he's neither creepy nor too-heroic, but rather a man struggling with the weight of Middle-Earth's battles and legends. Elijah Wood deserves an Oscar simply for giving us Frodo Baggins in the flesh: all wide eyes and simple hobbit determination. I thought Cate Blanchett was a great Galadriel - although played a bit too mystical, as if there was a ouija board hidden in her robes. The visuals are stunning. Middle-Earth is as real as our own world (thanks to New Zealand) and the landscape changes dramatically with each chapter. Even invented scenery (Moria, the mallorn trees of Lorien) are convincing. The orcs are suitably horrible, and the Balrog (my favorite) is exactly the flame-and-shadow apparition that Tolkien described. One quibble: the music gets too much. The film needn't have had the same overblown score that every epic predictably offers. It occurred to me while watching it on DVD that the sound of Middle-Earth should be as unique as its appearance. Or better still, ease back on the violins occasionally and horns and let us hear the world that Tolkien described. Another irksome detail was Liv Tyler's exaggerated role in "The Fellowship of the Ring." Arwen did not fight off the Nazgûl at Bruinen Ford. That was Elrond (with Gandalf's help) in the form of a foaming flood. Anyway, the film is worth watching repeatedly. If the second and third installments are as good as this, it'll be a classic.
Rating: - "One Ring to rule them all . . ." Yeah!!
I can't describe its how amazing this film is, but this is one of the world's, or history's greatest films! Based on *J.R.R. Tolkien's* trilogy, *The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring* is a masterpiece, filled with a types of entertainment, and what's best, is that it's got all of 'em. It's got fantasy, action, drama, romance, and sweet humor, as it tells the tale of an evil Ring, the Fellowship which risked their lives trying to destory it, and the problems it causes over its bearer, Frodo.
Yup, you can RARELY find a movies, like this, and rarely you can find a story like this. Peter Jackson has made a wonderful movie without making it boring, and you can enjoy this long movie, unless you're an impatient person, whom I won't recommend this film to. This movie is even better than Titanic, and it beats ... movies like A Beautiful (ugly) Mind. It's filled with a wonderful cast: cool Elijah Wood, Sean Austin, Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan, Viggo Mortensen, Sean Bean, Liv Tyler, Cate Blanchett, Hugo Weaving, and talented British actors like Ian McKellen and Christopher Lee.
The story is one you all know, if you've read the book. Dark Lord Sauron is plotting to rule Middle Earth using one, powerful Ring, the Ring of Power. But he was defeated, and Prince Islidur, who killed him, decided to keep the Ring, after his heart got filled with the desire to use the Ring. But alas, the guy got killed and the Ring was lost for thousands of years, until Smeagol found the it, and he got corrupted by the "Precious" Ring. He became the hideous creature, Gollum.
But the Ring abandond Gollum, and something happened that the Ring didn't expect. It was found by the most unlikely creature imaginable, a Hobbit (halfling): Bilbo Baggins of the Shire, and for years, the Ring was in his houses . . . until now.
Now, his hier, Frodo, must destroy the Ring by casting it back into Mount Doom, the very place it was made, and there, it could be unmade. Together with the Fellowhsip of the Ring, Frodo must journey to Mordor, to the site of Mount Doom, or else Sauron, whose spirit is bound to the Ring, will return. But the journey won't be that easy.
Nominated for 13 Academy Awards, and out of those Oscars, it won four, the Fellowship of the Ring is one you won't miss to watch! Though it should've won Best Picture, it's still a great movie, and here at Amazon.com, the film has 2778 reveiwers (the number might change). Out of the reviews, there are 130 1-star reviews! This is quiet a FEW number of negative reviews, mostly done by Tolkien "Experts" and easily bored people who probably never read the books. But it's pleasing to know that there are many 5-star reviews, and that'll probably make you want to watch it, again and again, 'till you're tired of it.Sincerely,
A ...reviewer/student/fan
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