Towering achievement
By KEVIN WILLIAMSON
Calgary Sun
That The Lord of the Rings dazzles with heretofore unseen visual
abandon isn't what makes this fantasy epic such a sensational
triumph.
Rather, it's that -- with a sleight of hand worthy of a wizard
-- director Peter Jackson has made a film that retains its humanity
even as it speeds audiences into unreal worlds and jaw-dropping
battles.
Jackson's balancing act proves as seamless as the digital effects
that find hobbit and human occupying the same space -- and the
result is the most satisfying blockbuster in recent history.
Jackson -- a New Zealander with cinematic hutzpah and a Kiwi effects
team to back him up -- has crafted an adventure sure to satisfy
both the fans of J.R.R. Tolkien's classic and those neophytes
who have never turned one of its pages.
Despite an intimidating running length of three hours, the film
is brisk and never bloated, spanning a few thousand years of Middle-earth
history in the opening minutes before settling into the distinctly
personal introduction of Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood), one of a
peaceful people known as hobbits, who stand about a metre tall
and live in a carefree shire.
That existence is shattered when Frodo inherits a ring forged
thousands of years earlier by the dark lord, Sauron, who, with
the ring's power, nearly enslaved the world before being defeated
in battle.
Led by his friend and wizard Gandalf The Grey (Ian McKellen) and
accompanied by three other hobbits -- Samwise Gamgee and the mischievous
Peregrin (Pippin) Took (portrayed by Billy Boyd) and Meriadoc
(Merry) Brandybuck (played by Dominic Monaghan) -- Frodo embarks
on a quest to destroy the ring in the fires of Mount Doom, a dark
evil territory which, thanks to Jackson, lives up to its name.
Eventually his friends are joined by a motley assortment of races
who form a fellowship to protect Frodo -- the warrior Aragorn
(Viggo Mortensen in a star-making performance), the brave but
all-too-human Boromir (Sean Bean), the blustering dwarf Gimli
(John Rhys-Davies) and the elf Legolas (Orlando Bloom).
They must guard Frodo -- and the ring, which corrupts all who
possess it -- from Sauron's forces, including the treacherous
wizard Saruman The White (Christopher Lee) and armies of killer
creatures called orcs, trolls and the Urak Hai, a new breed of
creature cross-bred from orcs and goblins.
Whereas most Hollywood blockbusters involving forces of darkness
and light are little more than shiny, spotless wind-up toys, Jackson's
film possesses an uncommon urgency and sense of dread.
The battle scenes at times recall the ferocity of Braveheart and
Gladiator -- even as Jackson is delivering plenty of breathtaking
Indiana Jones-style jolts.
But as skilled as Jackson's hand is at mythic clashes between
good and evil, so too is it assured with character and drama.
The performances are uniformly excellent, with McKellen's wise
and courageous sorcerer and Mortenson's battle-scarred but honour-bound
soldier standouts.
As Frodo, Wood is both resolute and rightfully terrified. He yearns
for the life he had, even as he knows he cannot go back.
Of course, this film, Fellowship of the Ring, marks only the first
of a trilogy, with the second part, The Two Towers, due in a year.
For moviegoers, it promises to be a very long wait indeed.
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