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Updated 01/26/2006
( A new "The Two Towers" review is below)
{plus a short review of the book on the Making of
the LOTR Movies by Brian Sibley}
Fellowship of the Ring
Review by Robert Thompson 12/21/01
Movie 1 of the Lord of the Rings trilogy stars Elijah Wood (Frodo), Ian McKellan (Gandalf), Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn), Ian Holm (Bilbo), Sean Bean (Boromir), John Rhys-Davies (Gimli), Orlando Bloom (Legolas), Sean Astin (Samwise), Domanic Monaghan (Merry), Billy Boyd (Pippin), Liv Tyler (Arwen), Cate Blanchett (Galadriel), Christopher Lee (Sauriman). Directed by Peter Jackson.
Where to start??...
The Lord of the Rings is based on the trilogy of the same name written by J.R.R. Tolkien during the late 1930s through the mid 1940s. Many consider it THE seminal work of sword and sorcery Fantasy, by a Master of the English language.
A very Brief synopsis:
Frodo, A Hobbit (a kind of a "little person") inherits a
Magick Ring that his Uncle Bilbo found in his earlier adventure. As it
turns out, this isn't a "run-of-the-mill" Magick Ring, but
the MASTER ring forged by the evil Sauron ages before; The Ring that
rules the other magic rings and perverts all who posses it or wish to
possess it. Gandalf, a wandering wizard figures out that Frodo's ring
is the ONE Ring, and determines that the ring must be destroyed before
Sauron can recover it, for if Sauron gets the ring, he will enslave or
destroy the entire world. Accompanied by Gandalf, two humans, an Elf,
a Dwarf and three other Hobbits, Frodo begins a desperate journey to
take the ring to the very heart of Sauron's kingdom Mordor, to throw
the ring into the volcano at Mt. Doom, the place of it's forging, and
the only thing that can destroy the ring. This movie and the book upon
which it is based is the first third of the the adventure. Two more
movies will be released over the next few years to complete the entire
story.
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This first film episode (Not to be confused with the animated versions made some years ago) of the Lord Of the Rings trilogy is excellent over-all. Peter Jackson has been very true to the classic fantasy series. It isn't word-for-word with the original (that would have required at least a six hour film instead of the three hours of this one). The things that were cut were not really important to the story, even if they did help with the character development in the books.
One of the things not in the movie that was in the books that I didn't miss at all was all the poetry :-)... but then, I've never been a poetry fan anyway. The dialogue however is pretty true to the original work.
All of the actors were at least OK in their characters-- I think that Ian Holm as Bilbo was superb, and probably best suited for his role, and truest to Tolkien's vision. Ian McKellen was very good as Gandalf- He kind of reminded me of John Huston in his delivery- and I wonder if this was coincidence or not- Because you see, John Huston was the voice of Gandalf in the animated version of the Hobbit.
The actors that played the various Hobbits were all "OK" - None of them impressed me very much, although I really couldn't have suggested anyone who could have done it any better. I think that they may all be more impressive in the next two episodes, as their characters get to develop a lot more. (At least I hope so..)
I would have picked someone much older than Viggo Mortensen to play the part of Aragorn- In the book, you get the idea that Aragorn is in his mid-40s (with about a hundred years of experience and wisdom), and I think that the movie would have been better if the character had been played by an older actor. Nonetheless, Viggo was fairly credible in his acting, and quite good in the fighting scenes.
Same thing goes for the part of Boromir; Sean Bean was generally adequate in the role, and his death scene was VERY moving, yet I pictured him also as older and larger.
Had I not read the books several times through the years, and seen the movie first, I doubt that I would have this "complaint".
John Rhys-Davies made a pretty good Dwarf Gimli- Just about the right amount of bluster and stout good-heartedness required.
Orlando Bloom really looked the part of Legolas, an Elven warrior, and captured the regal yet austere haughtiness of the character well. And, man, could he shoot that bow.
However, I think that Gimli and Legolas were kind of cheated by the script- I can't "put my finger on it" but their character development wasn't quite what it should have been. The first major thing that is missing in the movie is the chapter where Hobbits meet the odd but powerful Tom Bombadrill. Just as well though, it would slow down the story for something that was kind of incongruous anyway.
The next departure that really struck me is that the Elven Princess Arwen's role is expanded from the original- She is much more heroic and important than she was in the book. Even though she was only on screen for a few minutes, Liv Tyler was excellent and moving as Arwen, and I think a great improvement over what Tolkien did with her...
The "computer generated special effects" were all pretty good. Even though the color, tone and general environment were vastly different, they "felt" very similar to the CGE s of Naboo in the last Star Wars movie. The camera effects were what amazed me though- I don't have a clue as to how they kept the perspective "accurate" when filming the "little people" right next to the "big people". Hobbits are less than 4 ft. tall, and Dwarves only about 4ft. 6 in.; yet most shots managed to capture the height differences pretty darn well.. I don't know how tall the actors that played the hobbits are in real life, but I know that Rhys-Davies is a very big guy.
The incredibly varied terrain of New Zealand was used to great advantage in the movie, and it was very difficult to tell what was natural scenery and what was constructed set or even static computer generated effects. Superb job done by all the cinematographers, technical people, editors and directors.
All in all, an excellent movie. As a long time fan of the Lord of the Rings and Sword and Sorcery Fantasy in general, I can't say that I was at all disappointed. A few things I would have done differently, but I can't say anything bad about it. It is by far the best over-all adaptation of this type of work that I have ever seen.
Suitable for all but the youngest and most impressionable of children (lots of violence and scary creatures), this movie should impress and entertain the whole family, even if they are not particularly fantasy fans.
My only real complaint: I'll have to wait for probably a year to
see the next episode The Two Towers and two years to see the
third part, The Return of the King. Although most of the
on-location, live-action scenes have all been filmed, I believe that
the plan is to release each episode about a year apart, during the
"holiday season".
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6 months LATER.... OK, it is a
few months since I wrote the original review, and I have a few things
to add and a few changes to make.
I have purchased the newly released DVD of this movie, and after
having watched it "up close and personal" on a big computer
monitor and a decent sound system, and I have to say that this is an AMAZINGLY
GOOD FILM. All of the main actors are superb in their roles,
and even the supporting roles are very good. Viggo Mortensen
makes a superb Aragorn, and while he still looks younger than I
pictured the character, he more than fills the shoes, and gives a
wonderful performance.
Elijah Wood is a very good Frodo, his soulful eyes could get Frodo's message across without any dialogue. Sean Astin IS Samwise Gamgee. Dominic Monaghan as Merry and Billy Boyd as Pippin (fool of a Took :-) are more than adequate;
I'm even more "in love" with Arwen (Liv Tyler) than I was before, and while I was unimpressed with Cate Blanchett as Galadriel when I saw it in the theater, I am now very impressed with her performance.
All in all, this is the best movie of this genre that I have ever seen, and is in the top ten of all my favorite films. I don't know if it was the intimacy of watching this movie alone with my nose inches from a good monitor and headphones blocking all extraneous noise, but it is five times better than what I saw in the theater.
Update November 2002: I just received the Extended DVD Platinum version of The Fellowship of the Rings from Amazon.com and with the additional 30 minutes or so that were not seen in the theatre version or in the original DVD or VHS versions, it is EVEN BETTER. The additional scenes include things that add to character development PLUS lots of good action scenes. In addition to the "regular" extended film, there are extra discs that show some of how the movie was made, interviews with the actors as well as another full version of the movie with the actors commenting and reminiscing in voiceover about each scene.
ORDER
THE EXTENDED VERSION 
I highly recommend
this version.
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The Two Towers - Movie 2 of the Trilogy Reviewed 12-21-02
(Caution: some "spoilers" below. I tried to limit them, but a few are necessary )
Well, I hate to say it, but I was under impressed with the second film. But you have to take this review with a "grain of salt": The theater was incredibly cold and I shivered through the entire film, and the sound system was lousy too; I could barely understand the dialogue about half the time.
Most of the primary cast from the first movie are back, except for Sean Bean as Boromir, who was killed off in the first film. And there are a few new major characters, most notably: Bernard Hill as King Theodan of the Rohan and Miranda Otto as Eowyn, Theoden's neice. And Brad Dourif who "admirably" plays the slimy Grima Wormtongue.
The first few minutes of the movie did not impress me at all, but again, I can't really say for sure if it was the theater environment or the film; It seemed to me as if none of the actors were really "into" their roles. As the movie opens, we revisit (via a nightmare of Frodo's) Gandalf's battle with the Balrog, and see a lot more of what happened after Gandalf fell from the crumbling bridge in Moria.
One of the first scenes features a computer generated Gollum (computerized, but modeled on the movements of an amazingly agile Andy Serkis) At first I didn't like the CG representation of Gollum, it looked very "fakey", but after a few minutes it became much more realistic seeming, and by the end of the film, I had formed a much more sympathetic attitude about Gollum than I ever did with the books, and that is a good thing, and probably what Tolkien really intended.
The first scene that I found to be above mediocre was when Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli meet back up with Gandalf.
The next particularly good scene is when Gandalf, Aragorn etc. enter Theoden's hall and confront him with the invasion his lands byof Sauriman's orcs. The transformation of Theoden from the decrepid old man to a vigorous middle aged king after Gandalf removes Grima and Sauriman's spell from him is great.
And the whole battle at Helms Deep is great, especially when the
company of Elven Archers showed up to help. The special effects
there and at Merry, Pippin & the Ents attack on Sauriman's tower
were excellent.
I liked the way that this episode captured Legolas' and Gimli's
increasingly close relationship, and was even more impressed with
Orlando Bloom's performance as Legolas than in the first movie.
I predict a stellar career for this young actor. What I did not
like is that the writers put TOO MUCH comic relief into Gimli's role.
A little would have been OK, but there was too much.
Liv Tyler as Arwen had a few moments in this episode has a few minutes, and while her character is now poignant rather than heroic as it was in the first episode, I am still very impressed at the depth of emotion she can bring out of the audience, as well as out of herself. She is much more than just a pretty face.
There were a few scenes that were not in Tolkien's books, and they seem a bit superfluous, but didn't particularly detract either. One scene that I did find ludicrous was when Gandalf, Eomer (Nephew of Theoden, and Captain of the Rohan "cavalry") and the rest of the Rohan warriors ride to the rescue of the people in Helm's Deep; They charge down a hill so steep that even the magnificent horses of Rohan would have tumbled heels over head. A potentially VERY dramatic moment was spoiled by this in my humble opinion.
So, to sum up this review: About half this movie is good but not as good as I expected and hoped. The rest of it is nearly good as expected, and there are about six scenes that are superbly filmed and very moving.
But, I think that when I get to see this on DVD , or maybe even in a better theater, I will enjoy it a LOT more. There are certainly a lot of people that think that THIS is the best movie ever made, and prefer it to the first episode. I hope they are right, and that I just had a bad experience. Time will tell...
UPDATE 11/23/03:
Well, I finally got to actually enjoy THE TWO TOWERS
After watching the original DVD version and the VHS version a couple
of times, and not really getting into it much, the new "Platinum
Edition extended version" made it good for me. The extra 45
minutes of scenes did the trick, It filled some holes that were gaping
from the original version and just in general did a better job.
Sell your earlier versions of the DVD or VHS and ORDER THE EXTENDED PLATINUM VERSION
Now, we just have to wait another month to see the final episode of the Trilogy: The Return of the King.... and then another year to get the "good version on DVD ;-)
The Making of the Lord of the Rings Movie Trilogy by Brian Sibley Reviewed 12-21-02
My friends Larry & Cherie Jung (Who publish the mystery magazine "OVER MY DEAD BODY" ) sent me this book a couple of weeks ago, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Even if you have the DVDs with all the behind the scenes stories, commentaries and documentary films, this is worth having. It goes into many details that the DVD's don't have, has an outsider's viewpoint and is very well written.
After reading this book, I'm surprised that it didn't cost three times as much money, take three times as long and require three times as many people to make the movie..... Indeed, I am amazed that the movie ever got made at all. Read this book and you will have a much greater appreciation for all of the effort and hardships suffered by EVERYONE involved in getting this story to the screen.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
Order the book