The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring

PG

5/5

THERE were three things bothering me when I settled down at Beckenham Odeon to watch the long-awaited first part of the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Top of the list was, obviously, how the adaptation was going to turn out. I'm not a Lord of the Rings anorak but I was dreading the film being three hours of pandering to American audiences, with a gung-ho Gandalf nuking Orcs with automatic weapons.

Second was that it would all go the other way and we would be thrown into some sort of spectacular which would appeal only to the legions of Dungeons and Dragons obsessives who believe they actually live in Middle-earth.

My final worry as I settled into my seat, concerned the couple behind us who had walked into screen 4 armed to the teeth with cellophane-packed confectionary.

As it turned out The Fellowship of the Ring eclipsed even the most strained rustlings of the pair behind us. The cast are superb: Ian McKellan seems to be made for the role of Gandalf and leads the film in the same way Sir Alec Guinness's Obi One Kenobe did in Star Wars (honestly). Vigo Mortensen and Sean Bean are solid as the warrior humans and Elijah Wood's frightened Frodo is spot on.

My first concern was quickly eliminated. This is a very "English"-feeling film and there isn't a trace of an American accent, even from Elven beauties Liv Tyler and Cate Blanchett. Sorceror Gandalf uses a wooden staff to wield his powers and the only hiccup is towards the end when Mortensen cries: "Let's hunt Orc". This would make Tolkein turn in his grave, but it raised an ironic laugh across the auditorium.

Fellowship of the Ring will make you jump but it also has genuinely funny moments. The mischievious hobbits are used well to break up some of the tension during the characters' journey and even the poe-faced Gandalf is allowed a few dry one-liners.

So concern number two was knocked out. The film never takes itself too seriously, despite the enormous hype and estimated readership of 100 million for Tolkein's books. It steers clear of some of the darker complexities of the novel, which makes it accessible to younger viewers who are made aware the story is one of good-versus-evil without being made to cry into their ice-cream.

And despite a concerted effort from the rustling couple, this was one of the most enjoyable films I've ever seen. It deserves every bit of hype it received.

Never mind, Master Potter.

December 20, 2001 16:28

Chris Steel