I've been aware of the works of J.R.R. Tolkien for a long time...my dad read The Hobbit to us and I remember him telling us about The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion and other works. We had a copy of the animated film The Hobbit (1977), and had seen the animated film The Lord of the Rings (1978). Tolkien's fictional universe is so complete, the timeline of events so sound that it almost seems like these stories could have actually happened. Naturally when we found out that there was going to be a live-action Lord of the Rings trilogy, we were all over it.
The trilogy is about a hobbit named Frodo Baggins who is burdened with the task of destroying a magical ring that, in the hands of its rightful owner, will lead to untold death and destruction. In the first film of the trilogy, Frodo inherits the ring from his uncle and is set off on his quest with the help of the wizard Gandalf, two men, a dwarf, and elf, and his loyal hobbit friends from back home. The film provides a nice introduction to explain all the history...the audience needs to know why their mission is so important. In addition to elves, dwarves (Tolkien's spelling, not mine), wizards, and hobbits, this universe also contains goblins, orcs, trolls, ring-wraiths and scary fire monsters! I really don't need to explain these characters due to the film's popularity...think about it, who knew about Gollum before these films? Now everybody does, including the teenage gang members in this summer's Attack The Block.
Peter Jackson did a phenomenal job of bringing this fantasy world to life. Of course some of the special effects from 2001 look a little dated now, and some parts that were meant to be serious make us laugh, but overall the film is a success. Yes, my sister and I saw it in the theatre seven times. Yes, I'll definitely be in line when Jackson's new adaptation of The Hobbit is released. Well-made movies about fantasy and escapeism will always have their place in this world, and the loyal fans will be there to see them.
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