Film Review of "The Fellowship of The Ring"

As a significant contribution to cinematic history, the film The Fellowship of the Ring, the first film of the Lord of The Rings film trilogy, deserves a thorough analysis that highlights all of its numerous strengths and details. The film is an epic fantasy adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's ground-breaking book, which was directed by Peter Jackson and released in 2001. I choose to analyze this movie because it immersed me in the fantastical realm of Middle-earth, a huge and intricate environment populated by fascinating characters, with its breathtaking scenery and rich heritage. The film, which revolutionized filmmaking in the new century with its shooting techniques, tone and messages given, involves One Ring that is a powerful material made by the Dark Lord Sauron which has the ability to manage all of Middle-earth. Accordingly, audiences follow hobbit Frodo Baggins' (Elijah Wood) adventure as he sets out to destroy it throughout the storyline of the film.

The Fellowship of the Ring, is an amazing achievement by its release in the starting of 21th century. It is a movie that establishes the overall plot of the trilogy by introducing viewers to Middle-earth's world, its inhabitants, and the stakes of the story's central fight. Some viewers might find the movie slow-moving in compared to later movies because it takes time to develop the universe and character interactions. However, over time, the slowly going narrative accelerates by giving the succeeding movie trilogy a strong basis.

The movie begins by giving background information about the created world. In this section, it is mentioned that Sauron (antagonist) gave several rings to 3 big races which are dwarves, elves and humans; and himself. According to the storyline, Sauron lost his ring in the past when his finger was cut off in a war, and in the movie, he mobilizes another race, the orcs, to find his ring by a huge battle. Gandalf, the wise wizard, takes the ring from Mr. Bilbo, the protector, and gives it to Frodo (protagonist) in order to throw it to Mount Doom (the volcano where the ring was made) for destroying it by burning. Later, the Fellowship of the Ring is formed, including Gandalf and the Hobbits, along with other characters representing dwarves, humans, and elves. In this team, there are characters such as Legolas, who stands out with his ability to shoot arrows and creates incredible battle scenes, and Aragorn, the king of the people, who will come to the fore by combining a broken sword in the later parts of the film. The characters, who face many difficulties and obstacles throughout their adventure, faces a great long battle scene that highlights each character's individual talents, which captivates the audience deeply. After this scene, although the ring is unbearably difficult to carry and its strength is irresistible, with great determination and the support of his friends, Frodo fulfills his mission by destroying the ring. After all this adventure worth watching, the fictional medieval world where the movie takes place is once again filled with happiness and peace!

The visual design of The Fellowship of the Ring is one of its most striking features. The movie is a production design masterpiece, with breathtaking scenery, elaborate outfits of the Middle-earth, and minimally prepared props that engage viewers in a different world. The film's unbelievable visual effects, which created fantastical creatures and impressive epic battles, still hold up today. The cinematic shooting technics like “Forced Perspective” which creates an illusion by distance and sizes of the characters and objects have been used a lot in the movie. “Motion Capture” technic took place in the shooting process mostly, which is used especially in Gollum in order to record the movements of actors and transferring them into computer-generated characters. Along with these, CGI (Computer Generated Imagery) was actively used in the film to create the epic battle scenes, landscapes and creatures as Balrog and Nazgul. Most of these cinematography elements were newly started to be used by The Fellowship of The Ring which involves expansive camera movements and lovely compositions that perfectly capture the magnificence of Middle-earth with the assistance of the technology.

In the movie, Elijah Wood gives life to the character of Frodo, and throughout the process, he facilitates the audience to understand the whole plot and fiction in the clearest possible way, as if they were living the adventure theirselves. In the final scenes of the movie, which is the favorite part of mine, his acting in the dilemma of whether or not to be influenced by the ring and the process of throwing the ring into the volcano is truly commendable. The actor, who was born in USA in 1981, has played the lead role in all the films of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit series, as well as appeared in films such as Sin City, Cooties, Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind, The Last Witch Hunter.

Ian McKellen, on the other hand, fascinates us all with the wisdom and dignity he shows in difficult situations with the character of Gandalf. Adding some humor to the language of this old and leading character makes the movie more enjoyable to watch. In addition to the important role he played in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit film series, Ian McKellen has also provided incredible experiences to the audience by portraying the antagonist character Magneto in the X-Men film series in his career. Born in 1939, the British veteran actor has actually worked for the world of cinema for many years and appeared in front of the audience in many more films such as The Da Vinci Code, Restoration, Gods and Monsters, Mr. Holmes, Six Degrees of Separation, The Scarlet Pimpernel, The Golden Compass, Stardust. He has been honored with many awards globally including Best Actor Oscar Award (1999) throughout his career with his films, which he has sometimes directed or contributed to their screenplay.

The character of Aragorn, played by Viggo Mortensen, is appreciated by the audience with his determination. In the middle of the movie, Aragorn's love affair with Arwin, the princess of the elves, brought to life by Liv Tyler, makes the movie more gripping. The marriage of this couple at the happy ending of the movie brings the audience to tears. The Danish-American actor born in 1958 was also played in films such as Captain Fantastic, Eastern Promises, Thirteen Lives, A Perfect Murder.

Moreover, Orlando Bloom plays the elf Legolas, who is a favorite of battle scenes with his ability to shoot arrows and long blond hair. Legolas always sets an example for other characters and viewers with his noble stance and dedication during the war. I can say that Legolas' battle scenes are the parts that my heart always beats with excitement and find most worth watching, after my favorite scene, destruction of the ring. In addition to his role in The Lord of The Rings, he is also known for his portrayal of Will Turner in the Pirates of The Caribbean film series. Born in 1977, the British actor has also appeared in front of the audience with films such as Black Hawk Down, The Three Musketeers, Romeo and Juliet and Zulu throughout his career.

The acting of other supporting characters in The Fellowship of the Ring such as Sam (Sean Astin), Boromir (Sean Bean), Gimli (John Rhys-Davies), Pippin (Billy Boyd), Merry (Dominic Monaghan) also makes a great contribution by completing the details of the film with creating a nice flow for the amazing story.

The film was criticized by many professionals, especially prominent film critics shared their comments and thoughts after the film was released. Roger Ebert, who is a well-known film critic that has honored with Pulitzer Prize of Criticism (1975) and Gotham Independent Film Award (2007) in his career, called it as “one of the most ambitious films ever made” and stated that the film’s ability to create a fully realized fantasy world and the attention given to details is excellent. Moreover, Peter Travers who is a critic working for Rolling Stone, called the film as a “monumental achievement” and left many positive comments on the performances and special effects. Director of the New York Times' Film Criticism Department since 2004, A.O. Scott, also called the film "an exhilarating epic” but stated that he felt the story was extremely complicated in some parts and some action sequences were a bit unnecessarily long lasting. Along with these, the film has been analyzed and criticized by the authors of many different newspapers and magazines such as Variety, ReelViews, San Francisco Chronicle, Entertainment Weekly, Los Angeles Times.

Overall, considering the analyzation of the film with all its aspects presented due to my experience, The Fellowship of the Ring which is the first film in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, is a remarkable piece of filmmaking that deserves its place in the history of cinematography with the approval of experts from many different magazines and cinematic establishments. While watching, the movie transported me to a breathtakingly detailed world with fascinating characters and an epic plot. I had an unforgettable experience thanks to director Peter Jackson's innovative techniques, which include spectacular visual effects and cinematic camera angles. All the actors, especially Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Orlando Bloom and Viggo Mortensen, turn in outstanding performances that give life to their roles and fuel the film's emotional intensity. With all these, The Fellowship of the Ring became timeless masterpiece that has enthralled viewers for over 20 years and definitely will continue to do so for the generations to come.