Movie Review: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

 The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

Recommended for: Ages 13 and up

Rating: PG-13 ( for epic battle sequences and some scary images)

With the help of a courageous fellowship of friends and allies, Frodo embarks on a perilous mission to destroy the legendary One Ring. Hunting Frodo are servants of the Dark Lord, Sauron, the Ring's evil creator. If Sauron reclaims the Ring, Middle-earth is doomed.  

This movie is probably my favorite movie and so after watching it again, I am happy to be the one to write a review on it.

Technical: 4/5

The main problem that I have with the technical aspects is that there are some parts of the movie that you can tell that the actors aren't really there. It isn't a big deal and I had watched it several times before I really noticed it.The amazing part of these movies is that they make regular sized people appear to be three-feet tall when standing next to Gandalf and the men and elves. Throughout the movie the characters get progressively dirty. I was also excited to notice for the first time that the stone trolls were in the background of one scene. The acting was also very good and the characters' emotions were believable.

Setting: 5/5

The setting is very good and a good portrayal of the scenes from the book. Some of my favorite settings are the Shire, the Great River (the Anduin), and Amon Hen. I love that at Amon Hen there are some ruins, though mostly just statues that are broken. At the council of Elrond you can tell that it is fall. All of the elves' homes have a certain look that make them similar but different. There are also the mines of Moria, which were done well as an old dwarf mine.

Plot: 5/5

The first half of this movie sets up the story and is the start of Frodo's journey. The plot can be hard to follow and if you haven't read the books it can be a little confusing, (I had someone to explain things to me the first time). The movie starts out with the story of the Ring and there are some other explanations throughout the movie. What the Ring actually does is never explained in the books or the movies and all you know is that it is evil, it corrupts people, gives them unnatural long life, and it turns people invisible when they put it on. Some of the humor in the books were cut out probably to keep the story serious.

Characters: 5/5

I love these characters (the good ones) and I think that many of them were portrayed accurately, although I like Frodo better in the movies. Merry and Pippin are the funny characters. Boromir is more likeable in the movie than in the books but he has the same faults. Sam is loyal. The other members of the fellowship were also done well. The black riders were scary the first time and I think that they were done very well. The orcs are also creepy and Saruman is a great villain.

I love this movie and I would recommend it to people who love fantasy and people who have read the books.