Review – The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

Were I still in my Tolkein-reading, D&D playing, sci fi con-going phase, I’d probably live in the theater for as long as this movie was showing. Of course, were I still in that phase I wouldn’t have much of a life otherwise, so the theater would be as good a place as any for me. From the sound of things, several of the folks I shared the theater with were doing exactly that (the fact that they were there for an 11 a.m. show on a weekday was probably proof enough, and the ones in front of me in the ticket line referred to the flick only as “Lord”). That’s to be expected; the whole production is predictably designed to cater to the RenFest crowd. The bulk of the budget appears to have been blown on special effects, which is probably a good thing considering much of the action depends on maintaining the realism of the unreality. However, they might have dished out an extra buck or two for some of the actors; Viggo Mortensen isn’t up to playing a part as key as his role in this epic, and if Liv Tyler had to do much besides stand there and look pretty then she’s probably be out of her depth as well. Overall, however, the tale keeps moving well enough to remain entertaining throughout its three hour span. If nothing else, it was a pleasant trip down memory lane for me. Mildly amusing