Is this a dagger
I see before me? Oops, wrong book
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OK let's stop
the debate here. Lord of the Rings is better than Harry
Potter.
Fair comment. Oh alright, let's open up the discussion. So much
was expected of this epic the Nottingham website team decided to
have its Christmas party at the movies.
First up, Nigel
Bell.
They say length
doesn't matter but when it comes to a movie being branded an epic
you have to have some staying power.
Imagine El
Cid or Gone With the Wind running at under two hours.
Hardly worth buying your popcorn.
At three hours,
The Fellowship of the Ring certainly has the epic credentials
and it doesn't fail to deliver.
One note of
caution, however. The movie is a PG but already there's a warning
under-8s shouldn't go. Quite right. This is a dark, dark movie where
evil dwells around every corner. We're talking wet beds and sleepless
nights for mums and dads if they pack their young offspring off
to watch this.
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| Everything
I Do, I Do It For You...oops, wrong film |
It's very much
a film pitched at the mid-teens to late 20s and those who've grown
up with Tolkein's novel.
Where it chiefly
scores over Harry Potter is that the plot is allowed to develop
at a pace which doesn't mean all out action over every minute of
celluloid.
There are dialogue
sequences of decent length which allow the characters to develop,
something which was sadly lacking in Chris Columbus's Philosopher's
Stone.
That slowing
of pace may alienate some and will fuel calls for the film being
too long, but it's a price worth paying.
Overall, the
special effects are as good, if not better than Harry. Certainly
the appearance of a Troll scores more highly than that of the Hogwarts
ilk, there's an octopus like beast which takes you back to the days
of Ray Harryhausen's Jason and the Argonauts, and the duel
between Gandalf and the Balrog excels.
However, every
time Christopher Lee appears the backdrops always looks decidedly
ropey.
One of the film's
greatest effects, however, is achieving the difference in height
between men, wizards, trolls and hobbits. You couldn't spot the
join.
Cast standouts
include McKellen as Gandalf, Ian Holm's Bilbo Baggins and Viggo
Mortensen as Aragorn.
The film's greatest
line - "Nobody tosses a dwarf."
Second up, Dan Sinclair.
Keeping it brief - This film is massive.
As a child I always shied away from the never, never land - the
length of the books put me off. However, this left me curious about
what I was missing out on.
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| Alas poor
Romeo...oops wrong play |
Keeping this
in mind I went into the movie keen to listen and learn. The marvel
of the film is that I came out wanting more.
I can only compare this first episode of the trilogy as on a scale
with Star Wars. This movie is of 'epic' proportion .
You are transported to a far off land and remain there for the full
three hours.
With many modern day makeovers you feel as though the story has
been spliced to fit 1 hour 30 minutes. The success with this tale
that it feels as if it is being played out to the full - everything
follows through.
This may be one place that Lord of the Rings may find critics.
Attention to storytelling means the film is not always fast paced
- you definitely need a comfy seat to sit in. But adults and children
alike will want to see the story through to the conclusion...
...and that's the beauty of it. I'll be waiting another twelve months
for the next instalment.
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