‘Fellowship of the Ring’ Film REVIEWS
The long awaited film is finaly here and everyone has their own veiw and opinions. So what this page will offer is a archive of different movie reviews written online and in magazines. The collection will grow as I get time to add them and any that I have missed please let me know, I will add them. Send your reviews here to matthewn@thethirdage.net.
| The Third Age | |
| “no film in my time has lived up to greater expectations. Never a second of footage lets you forget that you have finally arrived in a land only imaginable, until now“ | |
| A Movie Parable | |
| “director Peter Jackson’s (The Frighteners) vision of the “black riders” and the undead army of Saruman is indeed the stuff of nightmares” | |
| Arrow In The Head | |
| “my eyes were riveted to the screen. You will believe the world of this film. Walking through it with the main characters, I felt like a damn kid again” | |
| Balin Of The Mines | |
| “and best of all there ARE suprizes. Little ones. Great ones that fit, work with the characters but are new…and delightful“ | |
| BBC | |
| “Peter Jackson’s assured adaptation of JRR Tolkien’s The Lord of The Rings turns the book’s least screen-worthy volume into a gripping and powerful adventure movie” | |
| Boxoffice Magazine | |
| “considering the three-hour length, certain passages feel, oddly enough, rushed and emotionally truncated, while others bog down the pace“ | |
| Cinefantastique | |
| “one clear advantage Jackson has over many past fantasy films, is the tremendous advances in effects work that makes the world of middle-earth so realistic“ | |
| Cinema Confidential News | |
| “that damn movie immediately became the single best 3 hour experience in my life. From the opening credits to the emotionally charged cliff hanging ending“ | |
| CNN | |
| “the “Rings” trilogy is also a monument to ensemble acting of the highest order. McKellen is sheer perfection as Gandalf, and Wood is remarkable as Frodo, the heart and soul of the story“ | |
| Compuserve | |
| “while this picture is anything but an indie, New Line Cinema must be congratulated for emulating art-house distributors–for taking a risk“ | |
| Dark Horizons | |
| “what makes it work though? Unlike with the very literal “Harry Potter”, Jackson has indeed taken license with Tolkien’s version and made some changes – mostly for the better“ | |
| Eclipse Magazine ???? | |
| Entertainment Weekly | |
| “I may have never turned a page of Tolkien, but I know enchantment when I see it“ | |
| Film De Cult | |
| “the whole thing is very upright, honest : no inappropriate romance, no spoof aspects, the humoristic sidekicks aren’t “Jar-Jarish” and the heroes remain human (even if they are not) and suffer“ | |
| Film Freak Central ???? | |
| Filmcritic.com | |
| “overall, I found the film enjoyable and don’t want to harp too much on the negatives, though they are substantial” | |
| Headlines | |
| “most admirably, it avoids the pitfalls of epic dramas, usually burdened by rambling narrative, anachronistic language and an unsuccessful blending of accents and acting styles“ | |
| Internet Reviews | |
| “but, when the going gets tough, Gandalf (Ian McKellen), Frodo’s tall mentor and protector, sometimes resorts to ‘Run!’ “ | |
| Jiminy Critic Movie Review | |
| “pretentious to the hilt, ominous to a fault, faithful to both the text’s plot and tone, and I should note, almost parenthetically, very good“ | |
| JoBlo’s Movie Emporium | |
| “every detail of the film seemed real, from the dark, twisted battle sequence opening up the movie, down to the dirt in the little hobbit’s fingernails“ | |
| Movie Headlines | |
| “there are a lot of references to other people, places, and historical events that become hard to keep track of. It may throw the casual moviegoer off” | |
| Movie-Page | |
| “there is a sense of foreboding in the film, so the fact than an evil power is behind Frodo is palpable, which makes us forget this is set in a fantasy world“ | |
| Newsweek | |
| “Jackson’s fierce, headlong movie takes high-flying risks: it wears its earnestness, and its heart, on its muddy, blood-streaked sleeve“ | |
| NME.com | |
| “The Lord Of The Rings, on the other hand, is three hours of staunchly unmoving cobblers with some nice views” | |
| Real | |
| “to call it the best fantasy movie ever made would be giving it short shrift. It’s one of the greatest adventure films, period“ | |
| Reeling Reviews – 1. | |
| “Jackson’s films are sure to take the “Star Wars” mantle as beloved mythic epic for a new generation” | |
| Reeling Reviews – 2. | |
| “my only complaint about installment number one of the trilogy is that I have to wait for so long for the rest” | |
| Roger Ebert | |
| “well-crafted and sometimes stirring adventure–is to its credit. But a true visualization of Tolkien’s Middle-earth it is not” | |
| Salon | |
| “the first 10 minutes of “The Fellowship of the Ring” renders all hype — whether it’s the kind that’s bought and paid for or the kind generated by eager fans — inconsequential“ | |
| Screen Daily | |
| “visually striking, thematically grave, and morally weighty, Peter Jackson’s The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring, is a miracle of a movie“ | |
| Show Biz Ireland | |
| “worth a trip to cinema just to see what all the hype is about but like Harry Potter some things are just better as the author intended, as a book” | |
| Suite 101 | |
| “if anyone is afraid that the movie departs from Tolkien’s book, they may rest assured that it does. If anyone is hoping that the movie brings Middle-earth to life, they may rest assured that it does” | |
| Teletext | |
| “in this landscape, it would be easy to lose sight of such slight figures as hobbits, but the film’s real strength is the care it takes with character” | |
| The Force.net (Star Wars) | |
| “forget the hype, forget the competition. Just go in and have fun watching it. There’s room in the world for both franchises” | |
| The Hollywood Reporter | |
| “quite masterfully paced and one of those rewarding movies that seems to get better and better as it progresses, “Fellowship” justifies its long running time” | |
| The Irish Times | |
| “it’s remarkably faithful to the structure and narrative arc of Tolkien’s book; is very well cast and the visual rendering of Middle Earth through the New Zealand locations is quite wonderful” | |
| The Kansas City Star The One Ring | |
| “this is a visually splendid and richly emotional experience populated with characters we care about and a world that seems more believable with every passing frame of film“ | |
| The One Ring ???? | |
| The Onion | |
| “in condensing Tolkien’s book to feature length, Jackson and his screenwriters do the necessary pruning while still remaining faithful to the text” | |
| The Tolkien Trial | |
| “after such a long wait, the success is a satisfying relief. I will undoubtedly return to see it again many times, and I’ve already started counting the days until December 2002!” | |
| Time Europe | |
| “Jackson’s work is not simply a sumptuous illustration of a favorite fable; though faithful in every detail to Tolkien, it has a vigorous life of its own” | |
| Variety | |
| “faithful adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s trilogy, looks to please the book’s legions of fans with its imaginatively scrupulous rendering of the tome’s characters and worlds on the screen, as well as the uninitiated with its uninterrupted flow of incident and spectacle” |