The Fellowship of the Ring Pt. 1

The Shire

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I remember it like it was yesterday. The year was 2001, and my family and I were attending the first of three 'Lord of the Rings' movies to be. It looked about how it did for 'Star Wars: Episode I', but with the very important difference that this was a wait that REALLY paid off. Nowadays, one might look at this as some boring thing from the past, but one must also understand that this was one hell of a cinematic achievement for its time.

There was once a point when 'Lord of the Rings' was deemed "un-filmable", and the cartoon version was about as good as it could get. But director Peter Jackson soon blew us all away by doing things "right", and throwing his budget into filming all three stories back to back, and releasing them pretty much exactly a year apart from each other; Dec. 19, 2001, Dec. 18, 2002, and Dec. 17, 2003. This was sort of an unprecedented thing for the time. Movies like 'Back to the Future II' and 'III' did basically the same thing, but none of it was planned from the get-go like this.

​While today it seems like we can do anything with film (especially with Marvel having taken over the cinematic world), remember that this was 2001, and movies like 'Episode I' or 'Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within' were considered peak CG. 'FF' was actually incredible to see at the time, but looking at it now, it's pretty standard stuff. As a medieval-looking movie that needs a LOT of creature effects and breathtaking set pieces, one could imagine this not doing so well for its time, but a lot of the CG elements actually still totally hold up. Other than all that, though, you had to adapt a story that was honestly sort of all over the place. 'Fellowhip' may have been simple enough, but once you hit 'Two Towers', you're looking at different parties' stories being told in different sections, but taking place at similar times.

Now, we're talking about a book (perhaps better known as a trilogy) that was once claimed to have been outsold only by the Holy Bible. It has made its mark in the realm of fantasy, and it's largely responsible for inspiring things like 'Dungeons & Dragons' and, well, just about anything else in that medieval fantasy genre. Some even suggested that it shouldn't be filmed, as the story lives so well in the readers' imaginations. That said, let me be the first to say that I feel the movies far outweigh the books, as when I checked out the books, I was bored to tears at many different points... and that was on audiobook! Not to suggest 'Lord of the Rings' isn't a classic in its own right, I just think it's perhaps a bit sophisticated and "wordy" for me.

Anyway, let's get into the first part of the Extended Cuts. Luckily, there's not a whole hell of a lot to it, right? We meet a Hobbit named Bilbo Baggins (Ian Holm), who is celebrating his 111th birthday. During the party, he disappears with the aid of a mysterious ring he found once in a cave (as seen in 'An Unexpected Journey'). Basically, he means to retire, and head to Rivendell to hang out with the Elves, but wants to do it without anyone knowing where he's going. His old friend and fellow adventurer, Gandalf the Grey Wizard (Ian McKellen) implores Bilbo to leave the ring behind, which he does, but very reluctantly. Gandalf soon takes the time to research the ring, and eventually finds that it's about to lead to no good.

Knowing it can't stay in the Shire (Bilbo's home, and home to many other Hobbits), Gandalf tasks Bilbo's young nephew, Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood) with bringing the ring to a not-too-far off inn and meeting him there with further instructions. Along Frodo's way, he gains the company of his other Hobbit friends, Sam (Sean Astin), Merry (Dominic Monaghan) and Pippin (Billy Boyd). The party finds themselves chased by "Ring Wraiths", who will stop at nothing to get their hands on that ring for their master, Sauron; the dark entity that will spell out certain doom for Middle Earth if he gets his ring back.

In the meantime, Gandalf seeks the council of the White Wizard, Saruman (Christopher Lee), but is backstabbed, and thrown atop the seemingly inescapable roof of Saruman's tower, as Saruman is a bit of a Sauron supporter. This is what we eventually find preoccupies Gandalf for his meeting with the Hobbits. The Hobbits do, however, meet Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen); a human ranger who aids them in their quest to get to Rivendell. However, it doesn't come without a few bumps in the road along their way.

Eventually, this all leads to the forming of the Fellowship of the Ring before the main adventure begins. The Fellowship consists of a solid variety of characters that include Frodo, Sam, Merry, Pippin, Aragorn, Gandalf (yeah, he makes it), and new members, Boromir; another human (Sean Bean), Gimli the Dwarf (John Rhys-Davies) and Legolas the Elf (Orlando Bloom). Everyone is there to help Frodo carry the ring to a volcano known as Mount Doom to destroy it, and thus vanquish the dark lord Sauron, who is trying to make a comeback. Meanwhile, Saruman is busy trying to move things along for Sauron by creating an army of vicious orcs. This first part of 'Fellowship' ends, appropriately enough, with the forming of the fellowship.

Okay, so there's way more than I suggested, but this may very well be the longest of these reviews as the whole half is essentially one big set-up. We get to know the characters, their relationships, the backstory (there's SO much more I could write about Sauron and the rng's history), and it essentially ends at the real beginning of the epic adventure to come. There's a lot to describe and a lot of characters to mention. I still haven't said anything about Elrond (Hugo Weaving), who heads the council that forms the Fellowship, and his daughter, Arwen (Liv Tyler), who has a love thang going on with Aragorn.

Anyway, to finally conclude this review, part 1 of 'Fellowship' is one I tend to enjoy somewhere in the middle as far as they all go. It's a situation where it's full of cool things here and there, but at this point, I know that there's much better stuff to come in the series, and that includes a good chunk of 'Fellowship' part 2. But as I said, it's just setting things up, so I can't get overly critical about things either. Going back to the time I first saw it, I had a great time, being swept away immediately into this world. So this is perfectly good for what it needs to be, and in my opinion, ends at the right spot with a good laugh, forming the Fellowship and having Pippin ask "where are we going?" It's enough to make you wanna pop in that second chapter.


3/5

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