I understand that this is a classic, and understand why people love it. But for me the film has a similar pacing issue as the books; for too long I feel as though the characters are not making any progress towards their goals.
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Critic Rating
(read reviews)User Rating
- New Zealand,
- United States
- 2001
- · 178m
Director
Peter Jackson
Cast
Elijah Wood,
Ian McKellen,
Viggo Mortensen,
Sean Astin,
Liv Tyler,
Orlando Bloom
Genre
Adventure,
Fantasy,
Action
Frodo Baggins, a young hobbit, has inherited a mysterious and powerful ring from his uncle, one that is being hunted sought after by its evil creator. He embarks on a quest to Mt. Doom to do the one thing that will guarantee it will not fall into the wrong hands - destroy it.
Stream The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
What are users saying?
Fellowship kicks off one of the greatest film trilogies of all time, providing a beautiful introduction to Tolkien's world and establishing characters that would go on to become pop-culture icons. Out of all three movies in Peter Jackson's trilogy, Fellowship has the greatest sense of wonder, as the world is still new to the viewer and the Hobbit protagonists, neither of whom have ever been on an adventure such as this. And yet, the movie also establishes that there are real stakes to this quest, as certain main character deaths are arguably more impactful than any that come in the subsequent films. The sequels may be grander in scale, but Fellowship is the cornerstone of the franchise.
What are critics saying?
100
New York Post by Lou Lumenick
So consistently involving because the excellent cast delivers their lines with the kind of utter conviction not seen in this kind of movie since the first "Star Wars."
100
Newsweek by David Ansen
The Movie Works. It has real passion, real emotion, real terror, and a tactile sense of evil that is missing in that other current movie dealing with wizards, wonders and wickedness.
100
Wall Street Journal by Joe Morgenstern
Against all odds in an era of machine-made spectaculars, Mr. Jackson and his collaborators have created a film epic that lives and breathes.
100
Chicago Tribune by Michael Wilmington
An extraordinary work, grandly conceived, brilliantly executed and wildly entertaining. It's a hobbit's dream, a wizard's delight. And, of course, it's only the beginning.
100
Salon by Stephanie Zacharek
I see it as nearly perfect: It's one of the best fantasy pictures ever made.
100
Time by Richard Corliss
Though faithful in every detail to Tolkien, it has a vigorous life of its own -- grandeur, moral heft and emotional depth.
100
Charlotte Observer by Lawrence Toppman
Jackson surpasses the expectations anyone might have had for him with The Fellowship of the Ring, the first installment of his trilogy devoted to J.R.R. Tolkien's masterwork.
100
Los Angeles Times by Kenneth Turan
Made with intelligence, imagination, passion and skill, propulsively paced and shot through with an aged-in-oak sense of wonder, the trilogy's first film so thrillingly catches us up in its sweeping story that nothing matters but the vivid and compelling events unfolding on the screen.
100
L.A. Weekly by Manohla Dargis
The film is a virtuosic triumph, but parlor tricks don't make movies, and it's Jackson's unwavering sincerity that elevates The Fellowship of the Ring into the increasingly rare Valhalla of the rousing, well-told tale.
100
Slate by David Edelstein
Fashioned by a buff, The Lord of the Rings is a banquet for the buff in us all. I left exhausted, happy, intoxicated.
91
Seattle Post-Intelligencer by William Arnold
The film's single downside is a certain nagging sense of deja vu: the fact that so many of the elements of the story -- the dark force, the all-empowering object, etc. -- have been usurped over the years (by "Star Wars" and others) that you feel as if you've been down this road many, many times before.
90
New Times (L.A.) by Gregory Weinkauf
The film succeeds as massive, astonishing entertainment; verily, enthralling us is its chief goal.
75
Miami Herald by René Rodríguez
Jackson's dazzling vision turns the story into a real movie-movie -- one that, unlike too many fantasy films today, is genuinely transporting.
70
TV Guide Magazine by Maitland McDonagh
Above all, Jackson evokes an almost palpable sense of the will to power trapped within the ring. Without this evocation of the ring's insidious ability to sniff out the potential for corruption and capitalize on it, the entire enterprise would be precious drivel.
63
Philadelphia Inquirer by Steven Rea
But moving across this tableau is Frodo and his gang, and here the trouble lies...Not a one seems believable as conveyed by Wood, who forever looks to be on the brink of a good sob. Likewise, his hobbit sidekick Samwise Gamgee (Sean Astin) is a real wuss.
Loading recommendations...
Loading recommendations...