The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
The first movie of the LOTR trilogy, it’s such a beautiful start to a beautiful trilogy. I’d probably say it’s my least favorite of the three, but that doesn’t mean it’s a bad movie. It’s still freaking fantastic, and the trilogy only gets better as it goes on. I love the story, and even though it’s essentially the same continuation over the course of the three movies, it’s still its own thing. I love the introduction of all the characters and how they have to learn to become a team in order to destroy the ring. You also get to learn a bit about each individual character’s history as the movie goes on. And speaking of the characters, the cast is completely stacked. Bear with me hear: you get Elijah Wood, Viggo Mortensen, Cate Blanchett, Ian McKlellen, Liv Tyler, Orlando Bloom, Sean Astin, Sean Bean, Andy “the 🐐“ Serkis, Dominic Monaghan, Hugo Weaving, John Rhys-Davies, and Sir Christopher Lee. You get all of that, plus more in two more follow up movies. Each one perfectly fits their roles, and I’d say the entire trilogy is perfectly cast. The acting isn’t even the best part of each character. Their hair and clothes are so beautifully made, and they give the perfect feel for this type of movie. The makeup is fantastic (especially when it comes to the orcs), and the design of the Ringwraiths are so ridiculously good and terrifying. All the action sequences are gorgeously shot, as they provide a great sense of excitement. Most of the effects are pretty decent, though sometimes slightly questionable. But for 2001, the CGI is pretty solid all around. And I could do a whole rant on the score. It provides such a fantastic Middle Earth/Medieval sound that perfectly encapsulates what the movie is about. Howard Shore does a freaking amazing job on the score (and the entire trilogy). Overall, this movie is extremely good, and despite being my least favorite of the three, it’s still fantastic. I would highly recommend it to all fantasy/adventure fans. This film is officially Berry Approved, so go check it out now!