Reviews & Ratings for
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring More at IMDbPro »

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6 out of 6 people found the following review useful:
Big Surprise, 23 February 2003

Author: LorDom from BC, Canada

Before this movie was made, I had barely even heard of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. When the movie came out, it got such rave reviews and looked so interesting that I was quite eager to see it. When I finally did see it, I was SO impressed. The story is absolutely enthralling, the special affects were amazing, and the acting was superb. This movie really got me more interested in all the actors playing the hobbits, and also Ian McKellen, actually to be honest, I REALLY enjoyed all the actors, especially, Viggo Mortensen(playing Aragorn). There is not one element, one scene in this movie, (in my opinion) that could use any improvement. I would strongly recommend this movie to any who enjoys the fantasy\science fiction, even if you have not read the books. This is the best movie I have ever seen, and I can't wait to see the rest of the trilogy.

6 out of 6 people found the following review useful:
AMAZING!, 7 August 2002

Author: Jack Gibson from New London, Ohio

Truly one of the best films ever made! It was robbed of the best picture Academy award. This movie does not disappoint. Even those who are not fans of the books, love this movie. Set back and hold on to something, you are going to love this from beginning to end. The only thing wrong with this movie, is the waiting for the next one.

6 out of 6 people found the following review useful:
Brilliant, my third favorite film ever., 29 July 2002

Author: Vampire Hunter D from Madisonville, KY

I have seen "LOTR: The Fellowship of the Ring" twice in theatres. The first time I left I knew I had seen something great...but I needed to see it again. I went back about two weeks later and realized this film is brilliant. The story is extremely strong. A simple story told complex, and greatly. Although I have not read the books I plan on eventually doing so now that I have seen the film. The acting is also a very, very strong part of this film. Elijah Wood deserved the Oscar for his portrayal of Frodo. He does such a great job. Also, Ian McKellen did a great job of Gandalf. The rest of the acting is great too. The directing is the best thing about this film along with the story. It takes you from place to place so well and vividly...it is amazing. Peter Jackson knew exactly what he wanted to when he walked into doing this film. He had an amazing vision. The music score is also another method of telling this story even stronger. It fits perfectly into any scene they are doing in the movie. If I have left anything out about this film I know why. There is so much I could tell you about this film and how much I love it but I will just point out those things. I cannot wait until "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers". It looks just as amazing as the first just from the previews. If you have not seen this, go see it NOW. In a theatre or when it arrives on DVD and VHS. 10.0/10.0 A classic

6 out of 6 people found the following review useful:
Haven't felt this excited since I was a 12 year old kid, 25 July 2002

Author: coldnakedman from USA

Whether it was the opening action sequences or the finale, my heart rate was going a mile a minute watching this movie. FOTR did everything every other fantasy film should have done; it had fantastic creatures and beings that had previously only appeared in my dreams and my imagination. Jackson did a tremendous job making tangible what I previously had to visualize by reading the books. Without getting too specific and spoiling the ending, my only critique of the movie was that it was a little anti-climatic. Then again, the book was also anti-climatic because it was the first part of a trilogy.

I would also like to comment about how many people have compared Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone to this film. My advice is to see them both, don't compare them, and enjoy the each as the great stories they are.

This is one of those movies that I will watch over and over again and never get tired of. It wasn't boring. It didn't lack action. It wasn't overhyped. The acting was good. And those that said it had too many "Scenery" shots should consider Doctor Zhivago...it was 4 hours of trains and snow, but still a classic! Give this movie a shot, and enjoy it for what it is; the visualization of a classic tale.

7 out of 8 people found the following review useful:
Best movie ever!, 19 December 2009

Author: Jacke Jarnhed from Sweden

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

This movie is about, well as implied in the name, The fellowship of the Rings, and in this fellowship we have the hobbits, the small people with curly hair and happy houses in the hills, Frodo Baggins, Samwise Gamgee, Meriadoc Brandybock and Peregrin Took, The Dwarf Gimli, the Elf Legolas Greenleaf, the Humans Boromir and Aragon. And now they all have to save the world from the lord of darkness, Sauron, but, here comes the unique part, to do this thing, they have to defeat Sauron once and for all, you see, 3000 years before this movie the king's son Isildur, cut off the finger off of Sauron, the one where The Ring was... This kills Sauron because this is the source of his power. Isildur, easily ensnared by the Ring's power, takes it for your own, gets killed and loses it for hundreds of years until it is found by Gollum, or Smeagol and it poisons his mind for over 500 years when he too loses it. And now the hobbit Bilbo Baggins finds it and as it lengthens his life it as with Gollum poisons his mind. Phew... A little quicker now, Bilbo, against his will, gives the Ring to Frodo who with Sam, Pippin, Gandalf and Merry goes to Rivendale to find out what to do with it. Of course the only way to destroy the Ring and defeat Sauron is to go to Mordor (This is where Sauron lives.) and throw the Ring back from where it came from. A fiery volcano, of course. (By the way I really hope that you do know why Sauron wants the Ring, I couldn't fit it in somewhere.) Now that was the plot.

What makes this movie so good is not ONLY the plot it is also the acting, EVERYTHING! But one of the best things it the character depth, every character have a very deep story behind them, i could go longer and longer into this, but i simply don't have the time.

Movie rating:

Story: 10/10 Plot: 10/10 Acting: 10/10

Both J.R.R. Tolkien and Samuel Jacksson, no I'm just joking, Peter Jacksson has made a great job with the movie and the book. This is only my opinion, but the book is better than the film and if you haven't seen this sensation read the books first, you'll get the best experience that way.

Final movie rating: Best movie ever! Not a single thing they could have made better! DO NOT MISS THIS! It might sound silly with Elves, Dwarfs and Hobbits, but it is a must see. This movie deserves more than 10/10 but, since it is the max I'll settle with it.

10/10!!!!!!!!!!!!

7 out of 8 people found the following review useful:
Middle earth finally comes to life..., 31 March 2006

Author: karenlynn1 from United States

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

I must say I was skeptical when I first heard my favorite novels were being made into films. I dreaded A-list tow headed actors and actresses over-dramatizing and/or faking their way through one of the greatest journeys ever. I feared they'd cast Tom Cruise as Aragorn, and Brad Pitt or some other overindulgent, overconfident "golden boy" as Legolas--a character I've loved since I first read the chapter about The Council of Elrond.

...but then I heard That Elijah Wood, a fine young child actor now grown up, was playing Frodo. I was intrigued. Sir Ian McKellen would be playing Gandalf--and I felt it would be refreshing to see him play such a good, likable character after watching him play Magnetto in X-Men (another performance of his I enjoyed.) The rest of the cast was either unknown to me at the time, or I hadn't heard that they had been cast in it yet. Needless to say I was DYING to see this movie. Unfortunately I didn't get to see the film when it first came out. In fact, I finally got to see it several months later. Definitely worth the wait. The cast, the script, the entire production was simply flawless.

Within the first scene the shire that I read about when I was a child, came to life... Middle earth where I longed to escape as a child had come to life, and was even more beautiful than I imagined. THe characters were almost exactly how I had pictured them, and the excitement, the drama, and everything else seemed very, very real.

My hat is off to Peter Jackson for his excellent job in bringing The Lord of the Rings to life, for those of us who grew up dreaming of Middle Earth. He did a wonderful job of (more or less) sticking to the original story, and bringing his vision of The Lord of The Rings to the big screen for all of us to enjoy.

Hat's off to the cast too, who not only looks exactly like I imagined them...they act and speak, even walk just how I pictured them.

Some long-time Tolkien readers may scoff at scenes that were cut out, or rearranged...or Arwen taking the place of Glorfindel in the Flight to the Ford... Well some scenes don't always translate well onto film,...I would have been bored watching Frodo wait a full ten years at Bagend waiting for Gandalf while the Sacksville Baggins' raided and pilfered what Bilbo had left behind... The Tom Bombadill scenes would have been rather bland, and taken away from the central story... And I didn't mind at all that Arwen was the one to save Frodo...that scene was so spectacular, F/X wise! I'm not going to nit pick about a female elf saving Frodo.

Regardless of such changes, the movie is spectacular! If you don't like it...well then maybe fantasy movies, or classic literature brought to life is just not your thing. To each his own.

But it's a must see for all Tolkien fans, all fantasy fans, and all who want to escape reality for approx 4 hours... and wander into Middle Earth.

7 out of 8 people found the following review useful:
"Remember what Bilbo used to say, it's dangerous business Frodo, going out the door.", 22 December 2005

Author: classicsoncall from United States

When I first read "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings" Trilogy back in the early 1970's, I recall saying to myself that the story would make a wonderful movie. "Star Wars" still hadn't come out yet, and realizing that the available technology could not do justice to the fantastic world presented by J.R.R. Tolkien, it was simply best left to the imagination.

Well, imagination has found life in "The Fellowship of the Ring", a truly profound epic that sets the standard for film fantasy, just as the books did for the written word. Upon first seeing it during it's initial release, I couldn't have been happier with the amount of detail it offered while remaining true to the original adventure. Everyone imagines what a story and characters look like in their own mind; it was as if Peter Jackson tapped a great cosmic consciousness to deliver a tale that captured the tone and pacing of the novel dead on.

I feel that readers of the trilogy have a leg up on the characters and locations of Middle Earth, as they are revealed in the film quickly and with nominal explanation. For example, when the Black Riders appear for the first time, it's difficult to grasp what they're all about, other than the fact that they're after the ring. Strider's explanation of the Nazgul is perfect - ring wraiths who were once men, neither alive nor dead, who always feel the power of the ring. Coming to the movie with that understanding ahead of time helps the viewer have a greater appreciation of the action taking place.

The real magic of the movie for me is the seamless manner in which the various races coexist and interact with each other. Though levels of unfamiliarity and distrust appear, can anyone coming out of the movie doubt that elves, dwarfs, hobbits and wizards actually exist. Even orcs and evil Uruk hai have a place in this world, for without the danger they pose there is no triumph.

If the movie captures your imagination and you haven't read the trilogy or it's prequel "The Hobbit", you'll be doing yourself a favor to do so. There in even more exquisite detail are nuances such as Elvish poetry and additional characters that provide more depth and color to the world of Middle Earth. It's a world easy to get lost in, and makes one appreciate a writer of legendary proportion who invented a land, people, and language all of his own that can now be shared with everyone.

8 out of 10 people found the following review useful:
Great Beginning!, 1 July 2005

Author: manherz from United States

It is incredibly difficult to really adapt most books into movies and still stay very true to the soul of the book. This movie does that in a very big way and really sets the mode for the following two movies. It is the hook and bait that is irresistible and even those that don't care for fantasy movies find themselves reeled into one of the greatest epic fantasy's ever told. Entering a world filled with new discoveries and incredible adventures is something that every child hopes for and thats exactly what sparked the creation of this epic. Watching this movie really brought me back to a time when life was magical and my imagination was all I needed to enjoy each day. Very few movies are able to immerse a person and make them feel very much apart of the story that is being told like this movie does.

6 out of 7 people found the following review useful:
A dynamic, epic, beautiful and sweeping work that knocks the socks of anything in the fantasy genre since Star Wars, 25 July 2003

Author: sdillon-1 from UK

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

CONTAINS POSSIBLE SPOILERS

JRR Tolkien's staggering trilogy The Lord of the Rings is my favourite novel of all time. To call it the literary equivalent of the (original) Star Wars trilogy if anything undersells it, as much of Star Wars is inspired by it. When I heard Peter Jackson was going to make films of my `precious' books I was nervous to say the least. How could he possibly succeed?

Then, in December 2001, I breathed an immense sigh of relief combined with an almighty gasp of delighted surprise. The first film in the trilogy not only lived up to expectations, it surpassed them. If anything, the film was better than the book. I say this simply because cinema is my preferred artistic medium. What Peter Jackson did was not merely film the book (as was the case with the first two Harry Potter films) but instead translated it into cinema. Jackson emphasised what was cinematically potent, reinvented a number of sequences and trimmed a few others with the apparent motto `show don't tell', which is of course what great cinema does.

The resultant adaptation of The Fellowship of the Ring is an unmitigated masterpiece. A dynamic, epic, beautiful and sweeping work that knocks the socks of anything in the fantasy genre since Star Wars in 1977. It is nothing less than criminal that it didn't win the Oscar for best picture.

The deceptively simple plot can be summed up in one phrase: `evil ring must be destroyed'. For this to happen, representatives of all races in Middle Earth - Humans, Hobbits, Elves, Dwarfs etc - must unite against the forces of evil led by the Dark Lord Sauron who wants to regain the great Ring to rule and cover all the world in darkness.

The complicated backstory is brilliantly rendered in a splendid prologue outlining the history of the Ring and how it came to be in the hands of the Hobbit Bilbo Baggins. Bilbo's nephew, Frodo, takes up the quest to destroy the Ring with the help of wizard Gandalf and a fellowship representing the other races in Middle Earth.

The ensuing adventure is so full of excitement, adventure, humour, irony, melancholy, terror and tragedy that it really is impossible to describe the emotions of the story in a few words. Although the plot deals specifically with the timeless theme of good versus evil, it also encompasses complex issues such as immortality, temptation, and growing up. There have been several misguided attempts at pinning Tolkien's work down in allegorical terms, most recently to the post September 11th war against terrorism. To do this is to miss the point. Tolkien himself claimed his work was neither allegorical or topical. It was instead intended to be a `fake history' or mythology for England and Europe, rooted deeply in his Christian beliefs.

The casting in the film is impeccable. Sir Ian McKellen simply is Gandalf, Elijah Wood excels as Frodo, Viggo Mortensen is superbly rugged as hushed-up-King Aragorn, Ian Holm makes a tragic and moving Bilbo, Sean Bean is wonderful as Boromir - a man gradually seduced by the evil of the Ring, and Christopher Lee is great as turncoat wizard Saruman to name just a few.

The cinematography is staggeringly beautiful, making great use of breathtaking New Zealand locations. The special effects and production design are groundbreaking. Editing and sound are both first-rate.

Finally, Howard Shore's magnificent music score deserves a special mention, the best I've heard of its type this side of Star Wars. Not only does he manage to create a sweeping work similar to a full-blown opera, but he manages to incorporate Elvish poems and songs that were an frequent feature of the novel unable to be included elsewhere.

The extended edition of the film is an interesting alternative edit, with new bits and pieces which are all good (especially for fans of the book), but to be honest it doesn't matter which version you see. The film's staggering attention to detail, its unswerving conviction and its brisk pace (not a duff moment in its entire running time) make this quite simply one third of the greatest fantasy film ever made.

7 out of 9 people found the following review useful:
Best adventure film of all-time, 6 August 2005

Author: gloryfinder (screenwriter720@yahoo.com) from Michigan

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Who can deny the power of the rings? Anybody who watches this film with any remote interest will find it to be utterly amazing with a childish flair and heart-felt bondage to the characters. No other film in the history of cinema has been able to capture the intensity of traveling across mountains to marshes. This is Peter Jackson's best film, although he was more than rewarded for the return of the king. I believe that this film is the best of the ring trilogy because it is so simple to understand if one pays attention. I've heard countless people state that this film is boring, but then I retort by saying, "Did you know what was happening?" And they reply with a simple, "they wanted to destroy the ring." This is true to a first grader, but so much more is happening around the film. Ten out of Ten.

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