Fans of the novels will have no trouble following the grand-scale epic story, but even for those unfamiliar with it, the appropriate background information is given immediately in the opening sequence of The Fellowship of the Ring. It is told that thousands of years ago, the dark lord Sauron crafted nine rings of power to be given to nine eleves of Middle Earth, and with them, they were to gain great power. Sauron, however, created his own ring, one that could control all the others and eventually be used to command his own army and conquer all of Middle Earth. A great battle was fought, and Sauron lost his ring and his life, and the ring remained undisturbed for two thousand years. Through a strange twist of fate, it ends up in the hands of Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood, Deep Impact), and he learns of its history and danger from the great wizard Gandalf (Ian Mckellen, X-Men). But Sauron's minions are on the hunt for the ring, and so Frodo, Gandalf, and a fellowship of elves, dwarves, hobbits, and humans set out on a quest to take the ring to Mount Doom and destroy it before the forces of evil can reclaim it.

      And that's just the beginning. Along the journey through the wonder and dangers of Middle Earth to the darkness of Mordor, where Sauron's army is growing again, the group encounters other races, civilizations, and creatures that until now have only existed in the imaginations of those who read Tolkien's books. The grandeur of everything projected before us has exactly the same brilliance Tolkien possessed when he originally wrote the story.

      The visuals are incredibly stunning for nearly every minute of the film's epic-length running time, and New Zealander Peter Jackson and his crew deserve to win every award there is to give for art direction. Whether it's a fantastic wide-scale battle scene or a simple glimpse inside the home of a hobbit, nothing like this has been seen before on film. Of course, Tolkien is to credit for creating it, but Jackson and his people get an A+ for realizing it so perfectly in a motion picture. Even the score by Howard Shore (which people will undoubtedly compare to John Williams's music for Star Wars) was exactly as stirring as it needed to be, and it added the final touch to make the film feel like a true epic adventure.

      The characters, flawlessly completed by the costumes and set pieces, were also wonderfully brought to life by the actors. Ian McKellan's wizard, Gandalf the Grey, couldn't have been painted better in a picture by Tolkien himself. Elijah Wood was appropriately small and charming as the little hobbit with the strongest will in Middle Earth, and Viggo Mortensen's Aragon was valiance personified as one of the story's more respected heroes. There were pleasant performances all around, including some notable turns from the likes of Liv Tyler (Armageddon), Cate Blanchett (Bandits), Sean Bean (Don't Say a Word), Sean Astin (Rudy), and Hugo Weaving (The Matrix).

      The talented actors had just what they needed from the rest of the creative team, and final result is that The Fellowship of the Ring is one of the best fantasy films ever. Even with its extended length (in the neighborhood of three hours), the movie leaves you wanting more, especially because the story isn't completely resolved when the credits role. But the film's ability to do that is something to respect, because it will engage audiences with the knowledge that there is much more to come. And when it has all been completed, The Lord of the Rings may truly be one of the best film sagas in history.

Andy Zientek, 2001