Mar 29, 2002 04:16 AM
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(Updated Mar 29, 2002 04:24 AM)
I'd always been tempted to buy a Tolkien book. I'd heard so much about The Lord of the Rings ever since the late 90's. Somehow I never got around to getting a copy and the curiosity that drove me to do so, eventually died out. Then came... The Movie. I first started getting all the renewed LOTR hype on my ICQ start windows (the annoying pages that load for 20 seconds) and once again, a dark voice whispered as the book beckoned for me to go buy a copy (those of you who've watched/read will know what I mean). Nevertheless I patiently awaited its release, decided not to get a copy since it would have probably ruined the experience of the movie. I searched numerous file sharing networks and downloaded bits of the movie but to no avail (no so patient after all...) Then came an age of darkness upon my life as my dreaded EXAMS started. Anyway... I finally got to watch it today.
Though I'd never read a Tolkien book I always found references and quotes taken from it in numerous places. I came across a website with a Tolkien quote for each day of the year. So out of curiosity I picked my birthday. The quote read: ''From the ashes a fire shall be woken, A light from the shadows shall spring, Renewed shall be the blade that was broken, The crownless again shall be king'' Within minutes of the opening, the words of Tolkien echoed through my mind, I found myself mumbling them as a short scene transpired. Though I don't know which book that was taken from, for the scene to have the words of Tolkien echo through my mind was truly an example of remarkable direction and scripting.
As for the cast, Elijah Wood was a good choice for the leading role of (Mister) Frodo, since the part involved a lot of crying, screaming and frightened George 'Dubyah' Bush looks, I thought he was pretty good for the part. Liv Tyler would do justice to probably any role (Steve Tyler's family is talented!). But majority of the credit goes (and went) to the costume designers and fx artists since most of the characters' personalities were reflected purely by their stunning attire. The 3d modeling was exquisite, the locations were breathtaking and made me question their very authenticity. There were times when I turned to my animation-inclined friend beside me and asked ''is that real?''. The sound was out truly of this world and so was the background score. I think Enya did a marvelous job on her songs. All in all, a magnificent ensemble of the perfect stimuli for a which set the mood for fantasy, adventure and intrigue as the ingenious plot unfolds.
Another thing that I was impressed with was the time factor. The movie seemed to have plots and sub plots combined with a dozen encounters, perilous trials, tasks and obstacles. Before the interval I was surprised as to how time seemed to have stood still. The amount of the plot they managed to cover was tremendous. Though nearly three whole hours in length (I understand the version I watched had a couple of edits, Indian screening after all) I left feeling very satisfied and enjoyed every minute. Though I know of a lot of people who couldn’t really sit through the whole three hours without complaining, I think its a question of attention span, interest and taste all put together. After all, not everyone is supposed to like it. I couldn’t stand to watch the old 'hero died, mommy cried, inky-pinky-ponky' type of hindi movies, and I absolutely abhor 'Titanic' because I think its mostly just hype. That was supposedly one of the best movies ever made! So its all based on appeal more than anything.
Though the movie didn't that many intended humorous segments, I found myself laughing for a lot of things, partly because of my own remarks on some of the incidents and partly because of Elijah Wood's George Dubyah Bush looks (I know I mentioned that earlier too).
Warning: Minor spoiler ahead
The plot of the movie revolves around the Lord of Darkness Sauron, who forged ten rings of power, infused with the essence of his spirit of evil. He distributed nine of the rings among nine kings, whose lust for power intoxicated them and corrupted their souls, thus enslaving them to Sauron for all eternity. The tenth ring was worn by Sauron, a symbol of his boundless power. Hence the name of the series. When Sauron battled with the armies of the mid world, his hand was cut off, thus releasing his soul from his physical self. The ring of power was then taken up by the new king. But the ring knew only evil, and corrupted the king as well. It led him to his death, and switched owners a couple of times till it was left to Frodo, a young hobbit, by its last owner. Sauron's armies are reawakened by his captive spirit, and now seek to free their master and orchestrate his resurrection. The ring can only be destroyed in the fires of Mordor, where it was forged. A group of 9, the fellowship of the ring is formed with Frodo as the ring keeper to complete the task, while being pursued by the forces of darkness.
On the whole, I'd rate this as one of the best movies I've seen so far. It had a good combination of everything and for the fantasy-adventure movie lover this is definitely a MUST WATCH. Despite the three hours I seriously wouldn't mind spending them to watch the movie again, not something I can do with a lot of movies, so I'd consider it A-Class. Many have compared the series to the Star Wars saga. I thought about it and came up with some interesting coincidences:
1) The lord of darkness: Both plots feature an evil alliance. Sauron and Gandalf's ex master in LOTR. Darth Vader, and the Emperor in Star Wars 3,4 and 5. Darth Maul was in Episode One with the Emperor. They have all been corrupted by great power.
2) The boys: Anakin Skywalker, Luke Skywalker and (Mister) Frodo. All have an oh so important quest that involves saving the world or the galaxy. All leave home accompanied by old greying mentors. Aren't they all blue eyed?
3) The Old Men: Gandalf (LOTR), Obi Wan (SW: E4), Quai Gon (Sw: E1) all wizard like mentors, the star wars duo were Jedi Knights. Quai Gon and Gandalf both ironically died on bridges while fighting to save the others.
4) The Guy Who Gets the girl: Han Solo (SW) and Aragorn (LOTR). Both these characters play a sort of semi lead role and both seem to be protectors for the boy heroes.
5) The 'Return': The Return of the King in LOTR is the final part of the series. The final Star Wars movie was ''The Return of the Jedi''.
6) The Effects and Locations: Both ASTOUNDING for their respective genres and eras.
7) The Creatures: Both the series have a WIDE variety of races, species and creatures. Top class animation.
8) The Force: Both Star Wars and LOTR involve a force that can corrupt its users. The 'Force' in Star Wars and the Ring in LOTR.
9) The Good Verses Evil Battle: The Rebellion Verses the Imperial Order of the Galaxy and The Fellowship Versus the Forces of Darkness
10) The 'Eye': The Eye of Sauron which was supposedly always watching in LOTR and the perceptive Jedi Powers of the Sith duo in Star Wars always gave them that added advantage.
11) The journey: The journey to the Death star and the journey to Mordor both accompanied by equal amounts of risk.
That’s about all I can think of for now. For the Adventure/Fantasy movie lover this is a MUST WATCH. The Average movie go-er will definitely enjoy it as well. It clearly has the makings of a classic.
