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

 

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
by Corey Poff

“For the time would soon come when hobbits
would shape the fortunes of all.”

Is it possible for Hollywood to adapt a classic piece of literature for the silver screen without mangling it beyond recognition? Peter Jackson thought so. He took the greatest fantasy series ever written... and gave us the greatest fantasy series ever filmed.   

The Fellowship of the Ring (rated PG-13 for epic battle sequences and some scary images) is the first installment of The Lord of the Rings trilogy - produced and directed by Peter Jackson - and in it we are introduced to the magnificent world of Middle Earth.

The tale centers around an unassuming Hobbit named Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood), who inherits the One Ring – a ring the Dark Lord Sauron desperately desires for his own. Aided by a loyal fellowship of friends, Frodo embarks on a perilous journey to destroy the ring once and for all in the fires of Mount Doom, deep within the Dark Lord's realm of Mordor.

In making a film like this, a significant temptation for any director would be to place greater emphasis on spectacle than on story. We live in an age of mind-blowing technical wizardry; because of this, many a filmmaker willingly settles for creating a CGI extravaganza with little or no semblance of intelligence. Whatever potential their story had is squandered in an overwhelming barrage of eye-candy. And alas, special effects alone do not a good movie make.

Thankfully, Jackson knows this, and he uses his team's technical prowess to propel the story rather than kill it. His love for Tolkien's world and it's characters is undeniably clear from the start, giving the film (and the entire trilogy, for that matter) a vibrant life which would have been sorely lacking otherwise. And while it is to be expected that films will differ from their source material, Jackson never strays far, a fact that will no doubt be greatly appreciated by lovers of the books.  

Jackson & Co.'s recreation of Middle Earth is nothing short of breathtaking; and paired with it is a masterful soundtrack from veteran composer Howard Shore. Weta Workshop provides the stunning array of sets, costumes, weapons, and creatures, all of which are perfectly conceived and crafted. The cast is flawless across the board: Viggo Mortensen IS Aragorn, Ian McKellan IS Gandalf, Elijah Wood IS Frodo, etc. You get the picture. Combine these elements with excellent cinematography, fabulous directing, and heart-pounding battle sequences, and the results are sure to satisfy even the most skeptical of Tolkien enthusiasts.

Tolkien's trilogy, while not truly an allegory, does contain numerous biblical themes, and the majority of these are carried over quite well in Jackson's screen adaption. Writers more qualified than I have studied and expounded on these themes, and you would do well to seek them out, as I have no intention of rendering an exhaustive analysis here.

Even so, I would like to touch upon a theme which is, I think, one of the plainest and also one of the most important.

Throughout the film (and indeed, throughout the entire trilogy), Frodo exhibits an admirable determination to choose hardship over ill-gotten ease. He is not obligated to carry the ring to the fire, and it is quite plain that his quest will be long, arduous, and may even claim his life. He understands all of this - and yet he selflessly resolves to go on because it is the right thing to do.  

At one point in the film, Frodo is tempted by another character to abandon this course of action and pursue a less dangerous road. He listens intently and then replies, “I know what you would say, and it would seem like wisdom, but for the warning in my heart.” This is consistent with the words of Proverbs 16:25, “There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” Frodo realizes that should he choose to accept this safer, more comfortable road, he might find respite for a short time; but in the end, no matter how hard he tries to escape, darkness and death will find him.

As Christians, we are constantly tempted by Satan and the World to abandon our long and difficult race, and settle for the pleasures of earth. Yet these pleasures will prove to be false, vain, and deadly in the end. As C.S. Lewis once said, “I think earth, if chosen instead of Heaven, will turn out to have been, all along, only a region in Hell: and earth, if put second to Heaven, to have been from the beginning a part of Heaven itself."