Lord of the Rings - Film Review

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Directed by Peter Jackson 'The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring' is the first of a trilogy based on J. R. R. Tolkien's epic high fantasy novel. Loved by both fans and critics this first film takes the audience through the fictional land of Middle Earth. 'The Fellowship of the Ring', sets up the fantasy world and the impending doom of Middle Earth. The second fleshes out the individual characters, developing them and the third film resolves all the issues present. Peter Jackson's interpretation remains extremely faithful to Tolkien's book even with the limitations of translating the story into a visual media. Despite leaving out beloved characters such as Tom Bombadil. 

Regardless of the fact the resolve of the overall arc is held within the third film 'Return of The King', 'The Fellowship of the Ring' can still convey parts of the Hero's Journey. The concept of the hero's journey can be very well adapted to 'The Lord of the Rings' and in appropriate fashion as it has its roots from old myths, legends and story tales. Tolkien's books themselves have been written as such and appears as an old tale fitting in with this journey. 

1. Ordinary world: The main protagonist, Frodo, is living happily in the shire with little to no care. Food is lavish and enjoyed by the hobbits who have no need to defend themselves. 

2. The call to adventure: Gandalf initiates the adventure by calling upon Frodo for his help. It is requested by the wise old wizard to go out and deliver the ring to Rivendell so that it can be later destroyed. 

3. Refusal of the call: At first Frodo is unwilling to go on such a quest as the quest is too large for such a small hobbit. 

4. Supernatural aid: Along the way towards Rivendell Frodo is assisted by his old friend Sam Gamgee alongside Aragon and mysterious figure who appears cloaked in black.

5.Crossing the threshold: It is when Frodo reaches Rivendell that his real adventure begins. Frodo is given the choice to return to the shire, resuming his normal life but instead rises to the aid of those who would form the fellowship of the ring. 

6. Belly of the whale: When entering the mines of Moria the fellowship of the ring enter a more physical representation of a belly. Being forces down the dark depths of the tunnels the group encounter a large number of creatures who they must fight off.

7. The road of Trials: The group continue to counter various opponents including orks and the balrog that kills Gandalf.

8.The meeting with the goddess: Frodo upon reaching Rivendell is told the future by Galadriel.

9. Woman as temptress: In the case of Frodo he is tempted by the power of the ring and the ring itself tries to seduce Frodo into giving up the quest to destroy it.

10. Atonement with the father: While not directly applicable to Frodo, Aragon must go on and confront the legacy set by his ancestry foreshadowed as he examines the sword at Rivendell. 

11. Apotheosis: There are several points where characters gain a god-like power including when Frodo puts on the ring at the pub however Gandalf's power is shown as he fights the balrog. This displays the power and damage he can inflict, far more than a mortal man. 

12. The ultimate Boon: Frodo receives gifts from Bilbo among which are sting, a sword that glows when near orks and mithral chain mail.  

From this point on the hero's journey is more closely linked to the second and third film as they hold more resolve to the three films. 

13. Refusal of the return: Frodo unable to return to his normal life in the shire as he has seen to much strife and death opts to leave middle earth with the elves. 

14. The magic flight: During what appears to be the end of Sam and Frodo on top of mount Doom Gandalf and the eagles lift the two into the air towards safety. 

15. The crossing of the return threshold: Aragon launches a last ditch effort to attack and distract Sauron and destroy the ring. 

16. The master of two worlds: Frodo is able to come back to the shire for a brief while alongside the other hobbits living as he once did before, writing his book. 

17. The freedom to live: Aragon rules over the land of Gondor creating a era of peace in which those who live in middle earth can do so with little to worry about war.

While the films have been well received it has also been criticised for a lack of strong female protagonists from the start. Strong female characters such as Galadriel, the elf-queen are shown but have little role. As stated by critic Peter Bradshaw, "their roles are marginal - this movie is a men-only affair" (Bradshaw, 2001), this further highlights the issue. However the issue can be traced back to the source material of the books, Tolkien himself regarded the lack of strong female characters and has regretted such choices. 

Despite this, the film remains visually appealing with the use of lush landscapes and amazing CGI, "Jackson has used modern special effects to great purpose in several shots, especially one where a massive wall of water forms and reforms into the wraiths of charging stallions." (Ebert, 2001). The use of such well done CGI in amalgamation with the beauty of the natural landscapes helps to bring Tolkien's fantasy world to life often capturing the viewers gaze with its strong and romantic scenery. This was realised with the help of Alan Lee who helped with the concept art. Supported by the costume design fit for its elves, hobbits, orks, human, dwarfs etc. the world of middle earth feels right, solid and full with history.  

Moments of tension are broken with pockets of fast paced combat as the heroes of the story are constantly being chased down through the land. The scale and the opposing force are realised setting up the story for the next films. At this point the film ends with great damage done to the group of heroes leaving the audience uncertain of their future fate.

Overall Peter Jackson's work has led to a spectacular translation of the original books doing Tolkien's work justice. 
 

Bradshaw, P. (2001) The Lord of the Rings: the Fellowship of the Ring | Film | The Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2001/dec/14/lordoftherings1 (Accessed: 2 October 2017).

Ebert, R. (2001) ‘Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Movie Review (2001) | Roger Ebert’. Available at: http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/lord-of-the-rings-the-fellowship-of-the-ring-2001 (Accessed: 3 October 2017).

fig.1, the-lord-of-the-rings-fellowship-of-the-rings.jpg (1000×1561) (no date). Available at: https://wtfbabe.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/the-lord-of-the-rings-fellowship-of-the-rings.jpg (Accessed: 2 October 2017).