The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)

Written by Peter McGinn on November 9, 2020

Well, I wouldn’t read this review if you are a true fan of fantasy adventure epics, because I am not. Don’t get me wrong, I like this movie and have watched it a few times over the years, but I have watched (or read, for that matter) very little else in the fantasy genre. I didn’t get too far into the Game of Thrones as the violent rapes got old for me fast.

So I watched this first entry of the Lord of the Rings trilogy as just a viewer, not a fan, and I liked it just fine. The complex plot held together well and the scenery was gorgeous. There was violence, but not gore, and for those who don’t like war movies, there wasn’t as much of it here as there is in the other two films of the trilogy.

I gather the elfin roles for women were enlarged and brought to the fore, and why not; women were mostly good for setting mead and large pieces of rare meat down on tables in front of their warrior men.

I must confess, I found it jarring that the warriors like Strider were so invincible, walking into a horde of sixty orcs and scattering them like toy soldiers with his sword. I know they are epic heroes, but if I’m an orc, I stand back and throw something or whatever, but it is similar to the old legends with semi-gods like Achilles, back when Hector was a pup.

I am not going to compare the film to the book — I read it decades ago when I was in high school. It is worth watching and though real fans will take this with a large grain of salt, I think it is possibly the definitive adaptation of the book. (I need to watch the other two entries in the series before I say the same about those.) if you are among the 12% percent of movie goers who haven’t seen it, give it a try.