Well not only did I love the books by J.R.R. Tolkien when I was a child, I also saw the animated version of Lord of the Rings (1978) that was directed by Ralph Bakshi. It has been so long I was almost sure I forgot most of the story of Middle Earth, but as soon as I heard the Gollum (Andy Serkis) call the ring My Precious it all came flooding back to me. Unlike the 1978 version, director Peter Jackson and screenwriter Frances Walsh follow the trilogy a little better. I was a bit disappointed that my favorite character the Gollum did not hold much of a role in this film. One can hope that in the remaining sequels this unique character can add to the comedic relief. The premise of Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring is a young Hobbit Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood, The Ice Storm) has been entrusted with a daunting task to save Middle Earth from the dark evil reign of Sauron (Sala Baker). This ring that was cast from the fire’s of Mt. Doom has the power to control the entire realm of Middle Earth. The only way to destroy such a ring is to return it to the fire’s that created it.

This movie starts out explaining all the rings created. The rings that went to the elves, the rings that went to the dwarves and the rings that went to the nine Kings and how Sauron created another ring that controlled them all. Sauron was defeated and the ring was taken, only the power of the ring was so overwhelming that it could not be returned to Mt. Doom. The problem with this kind of power is it destroys whoever holds the ring. The ring was dropped in the bottom of a riverbed for thousands of years until the Gollum found it and kept his precious until the ring was lost and a Hobbit Bilbo Baggins (Ian Holm of From Hell) picked up the ring and kept it. On Bilbo’s 111th birthday he decided to leave his Shire home and venture on another journey as well as complete his book. On the persuasion of Gandalf the Wizard, a longtime trusted friend, he left the ring to his nephew Frodo. The ring wants to be found now. Although Sauron was defeated thousands of years ago he has returned and is building an army to take over Middle Earth and just needs the power of the ring. The journey begins as Frodo and three other young Hobbits embark on a quest to destroy the ring. On the journey was Hobbit Samwise (Sean Astin), Pippin (Billy Boyd) and Meriadoc (Dominic Monaghan). They encounter a Ranger named Strider (Viggo Mortensen of 28 Days) and they are assisted by an elf Arwen (Liv Tyler of Armageddon). While being harbored in the safety of the Elf village a secret council was called to create the Fellowship of the Ring to ensure its return and destruction in the fire’s of Mt. Doom. Strider is joined by Gandalf (Ian Mckellen of Apt Pupil), a dwarf and Legolas (Orlando Bloom) who is this blonde, longhaired cutie with a boy and arrow.

This film is not lacking in action or surprises. We see struggle for power, magic, fellowship, sorrow and courage. Just like the animated version in 1978 J.R.R. Tolkien’s vision comes alive like magic on the big screen. The only thing lacking is a more prominent role of the Gollum. This film is three hours long and ends abruptly so it will be necessary to see the rest of the trilogy. But it was a disappointment how sudden the film just closed. I give Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Rings, a nine on the About-Movies.com scale because I was taken back by the ending, as were most of the people in my theater and I barely had a trace of the Gollum. After 22 years I still remember some of his lines from the animated version and was really hoping for a refresher of Gollum humor.

Last updated: Saturday, October 28, 2006 05:37:38 PM

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