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

227 minutes. That number alone may give you pause. But The Fellowship of the Ring passes so quickly you won’t know where the time went. When this film first appeared, the most common reaction was “I didn’t know a film like this could be made.” That remains true watching it today.

What it’s about — A Fellowship of nine setting out to destroy the Ring

Directed by Peter Jackson in 2001 and based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s novel, the film follows Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood), an ordinary hobbit living in the Shire, who inherits the One Ring from his uncle Bilbo. The wizard Gandalf (Ian McKellen) warns him that this ring belongs to the Dark Lord Sauron, and that if it returns to Sauron’s hand, Middle-earth will be destroyed. The only way to destroy it is to cast it into the lava from which it was forged in Mordor. Frodo sets out on that impossible journey with a Fellowship of nine — three companions, a wizard, an elf, a dwarf, and two humans.

Direction — A Middle-earth that seems to truly exist

Peter Jackson spent two years using locations across New Zealand to shoot this film. The pastoral green of the Shire, the dark underground of the Mines of Moria, and the glowing forest of Lothlórien were all created by combining real locations and sets. This world feels as though it actually exists — not as names on a map. That conviction is the foundation of the entire trilogy.

Andrew Lesnie’s cinematography and Howard Shore’s music complete this world. The Shire theme, Gandalf’s motif, the musical language expressing Sauron’s menace — each is attached to its respective location and character so precisely that hearing these pieces of music automatically brings the corresponding scene to mind. Howard Shore won the Academy Award for Best Original Score for this music.

Performance — McKellen’s Gandalf, the heart of the series

Ian McKellen’s Gandalf is the series’ emotional center. McKellen plays the wise, mischievous, yet formidable wizard as if it costs him no effort. The “You shall not pass” scene is more powerful for its very brevity. Elijah Wood captures exactly the fear and resolve that Frodo’s character must carry. Viggo Mortensen naturally conveys the complexity of Aragorn — a man evading his rightful kingship yet stepping into leadership when needed.

What the film says — A mission entrusted to the smallest

The Fellowship of the Ring begins from the premise that the task of saving the world is entrusted not to the great, but to the smallest. Frodo is small, ordinary, with no capacity to fight in war. Yet that very powerlessness makes him the right one to carry the Ring — because one with great power, holding it, would yield to that power. This paradox is what Tolkien intended to say in the source novel, and the film conveys it convincingly.

The ending — the Fellowship breaking apart — makes the separation painful even knowing this is only the beginning. Proof that the audience has formed sufficient attachment to these characters in 227 minutes.

Ratings & reception

TMDB gives it 8.4. On IMDb it holds 8.9, placing it among the highest-rated films of all time, and Rotten Tomatoes gives it 91%. At the 2002 Academy Awards it won four Oscars — for Cinematography, Visual Effects, Original Score, and Makeup — among 13 total nominations including Best Picture.

What falls short

The adaptation of the vast source novel into film required some stories to be simplified. In particular, the omission of the early section in the Shire and the Tom Bombadil episodes is a point of regret for fans of the original. The extended cut’s nearly 4-hour runtime can also be a burden depending on viewing circumstances.

Verdict

A work that showed how seriously, at this scale, and with this level of quality a fantasy film could be made. The starting point of the trilogy, yet it contains a self-complete emotional resonance. Rating: ★4.5. If you have never seen this film, now is a fine starting point, and if you have already seen it, there are scenes that will reveal new things on a second viewing.

Recommended for

• Viewers who want to be fully immersed in a vast fantasy world from start to finish
• Those who want to see Ian McKellen and Viggo Mortensen perform on screen
• Anyone looking for a film with a long runtime that delivers sufficient reward in return