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 Movie
Reviews
with Andy Gough.
Our regular movie columnist Evelyn Gough is on holidays. Movie buff Andy Gough (no relation to the luscious Ev) will be filling in until Evelyn returns. Happy viewing!
Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring
Directed, written and produced by Peter Jackson
 The more people ask it seems that the question is no longer - 'have you seen The Lord of the Rings yet?' but rather 'how many times?' And no wonder. The film is quite simply a technological marvel and truly a modern masterpiece of cinema and storytelling.
Weighing in at three hours in duration, the evolution of the first book of JRR Tolkien's great work of imagination back in 1954, the Lord of the Rings trilogy, to the big screen under Jackson and his 'Wingnut Films' production, does not fail to satisfy for one minute.
One of the most colossal movie productions ever embarked upon, it leaves you thirsting for the next two books to undergo Jackson's visionary evolution to the cinemas (and later of course, DVD!). With a year to go before the release of the next film, I think most of us will feel inspired to pick up a copy of The Two Towers, which is book two of the trilogy, and read it before it is released.
Director Peter Jackson (creator of the inspired but low-budget films Bad Taste, Braindead and Meet the Feebles) is a New Zealand filmmaker, and the film was shot entirely in New Zealand, providing the spectacular and diverse settings for 'Middle Earth', the world full of magic and lore where the saga takes place. The impressive international cast and crew is also spotted with a handful of talented Aussies - notably Hugo Weaving as Elrond, the Elvish Lord of Rivendell, Cate Blanchett as the beautiful Elvish Queen Galadriel of Lothlorien and man-behind-the-lens Andrew Lesnie (director of photography).
If you haven't read the book, the story goes something like this. A shy young Hobbit named Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood), inherits a ring. The ring however, is no mere trinket. It's the One Ring, an instrument of absolute power that would allow Sauron, the Dark Lord of Mordor, to rule Middle Earth and enslave its people. Frodo's mission is to destroy the One Ring, and to do this he has to travel into the Crack of Doom where the ring was forged. He embarks on this adventure with a fellowship of Hobbits - his sidekick Samwise (Sean Astin) and friends Merry (Dominic Monaghan) and Pippin (Billy Boyd). The Hobbits are joined by Gandalf the Wizard (Ian McKellen), the valiant warrior Boromir (Sean Bean), a sword-fighting Elf Legolas (Orlando Bloom) and Gimli (John Rhys-Davies) a stout-hearted axe-wielding dwarf.
 Legolas and Gimli lead the Fellowship upstream after leaving Lothlorien. Spectacular New Zealand landscapes provide convincing settings for Tolkien's mythical Middle Earth.
In this day and age it is refreshing to see a film with such a refreshing theme as the power of loyal friendship and individual courage being a power that may hold at bay even the most devastating forces of darkness.
What more can I say? The film is spectacular in its grandeur and is a fine testament to the imagination of JRR Tolkien. It features countless changes of scenes and character in an imaginary world, totally convincing in its detail and of timeless appeal. It is comic, homely, epic, monstrous and diabolic. Peter Jackson has succeeded in his aim of 'taking moviegoers into the fantastical world of Middle Earth in a way that is believable and powerful'. Heaps better value than another re-hash of an old 60's TV show. I'm going again! If you haven't seen it already, check your pulse. If it's there, you have no excuse.
Get thee to a cinema now!
Rating: 5 stars!
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