The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (PG)

J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy is estimated to have attracted more than 100 million readers around the globe since it was first read in 1954. It has been voted 'Book of the Century' in several world-wide polls and prompted The London Sunday Times to famously state that the world would forever more be divided into two types of people: 'Those who have read Lord of the Rings and those who are going to'.

It is little wonder, therefore, that New Line Cinema's decision to film the epic saga of hobbits, dwarves, elves, wizards and, of course, men sparked the type of hysteria that even Star Wars would be envious of.

Lucky for fans, then, that the trilogy has been faithfully brought to the screen by director Peter Jackson, a self-confessed admirer of the novels, who put in a record-breaking commitment of time, resources and manpower to bringing the project to the Big Screen.

The Fellowship of the Ring, I'm glad to be able to report, is a labour of love which more than justifies the hype bestowed upon it. It is an awe-inspiring and jaw-dropping piece of cinema which is as thrilling as it is touching.

And it is credit to Jackson that his many characters seldom, if ever, get lost amid the very special effects, making the second and third instalments a must-see when they are released over the next two Christmas periods.

For anyone who doesn't yet know, The Fellowship of the Ring begins the trilogy as shy young Hobbit, Frodo Baggins (enigmatically played by Elijah Wood) inherits a ring, only to find that it possesses a terrible evil which threatens the whole of Middle Earth.

Enlisting the help of a fellowship of hobbits, men, a wizard (Ian McKellen's wise old Gandalf), a dwarf and an elf, Frodo must travel across Middle Earth to the Crack of Doom to destroy the ring forever, all the while chased by sinister orcs, faceless, black-cloaked ringwraiths and their evil master, Sauron. It is the age-old story of good versus evil, of friendship, loyalty, and self-sacrifice against overwhelming odds and it makes for a riveting three hours in the cinema.

The very young may find much of its darker content too violent and way too scary, while there are lulls in the proceedings as the plot gets explained, but after a summer filled with big budget disappointments, it is nice to be able to report that for fans of epic cinema and great stories well told, this is the stuff that dreams are made of.

By.Rob Carnevale