The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)

One Trilogy to rule them all. Peter Jackson’s The Fellowship of the Ring, the start of this epic journey, remains unmatched in its reverence for Tolkien’s work – not merely as an epic tale, but as a moral and mythological construct with its own internal gravity. Unlike many contemporary fantasy productions, which often treat Tolkien’s world as a loose template to be re-skinned, Jackson’s film operates as a careful translation, not a reinvention. Every creative decision, from script to score to set design, reflects an understanding that Middle-earth is…

So now that the picture houses across the UK are beginning to reopen, this is the third film I've settled down to watch in front of a huge big screen - and it's a belter. You can only wonder at the sheer imagination of JRR Tolkien and of Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh & Philippa Boyens as they adeptly adapt this epic tale of power for a new generation. Certainly, it over-hams the accents - maybe just a few too many "rrrs" in "Arrragorrrrn" but otherwise it's a feast for senses. When the hairy-footed Hobbit "Bilbo" (Sir Ian Holm) gets to eleventy-one he sets…

89/100 60 years after the Hobbit, the ring is passed from Bilbo to Frodo who must walk into the heart of Mordor to destroy it. The introduction of the characters and the roles they play in this adventure is spot-on. The establishment of the Fellowship is logical, handled expertly in both dialog and action with the results being both heroic, full of sacrifice and doomed to failure. The action sequences are incredible and the constant sense of peril dares the viewer to look away. Also has a good dose of humor thrown in for good measure. Classic! --…