Review of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) by David L — 15 Mar 2017

This is certainly quite an epic film, at just under 3 hours long, but it's good enough to keep one awake throughout. Once you get past the first 60 minutes, which is a fairly long and drawn out introduction to the ring and characters backgrounds, the action levels pick up and the quest to destroy the ring that would allow evil to rule, begins.

We've essentially got an A-list cast setting out on a trek across the world, encountering various different enemies along the way. In this episode we have orcs, bad wizards, and trolls looking to take out our legion of heroes, and the special effects thrown at us are nothing short of impressive.

I remember this film was a direct rival to when the first instalment of Harry Potter came out, and this would probably have been my preference in that little duel. I'd say it's aimed at a slightly more mature audience, possibly more males than females, due to its inclusion of sword fights and a little blood and gore.

In terms of the actual story, how a useless little band of hobbits would ever survive such a journey is beyond me, as the skilled fighters spend half their time saving the little blighters, rather than destroying the enemy.

The cynical side of me knows that if the ring was in the hands of anyone else, the journey would have been a lot quicker, although one could argue they don't have the strong will of Frodo, which makes him resist being seduced by its power.

Still, we are where we are, and it's a great example of fantasy coming to life on the big screen. A lot of people will be put off by this because of the running time, and will no doubt have opted to watch Harry Potter instead.

However, those who have braved it will have enjoyed it, and will no doubt be glued to the sequels to see how it all pans out. I certainly will be - Forget the geeky wizard and his ginger mate, this is the real sorcery right here ;).