Analysis
Who would have thought that such an important 'novel to cinema' conversion would be bestowed upon a man who's previous Directional outings consist of such wonderfully named movies as 'Braindead' and 'Bad Taste'. Although early in his now blooming career, bother titles mainly involved Mr. Jackson's mates running around the countryside acting in a very strange manner, fighting aliens and chopping up zombies. All very gory and entertaining but not exactly the stuff a Hollywood legend is made of, so to be given the chance to helm the three part epic translation of the Tolkien classic 'Lord of the Rings' left me a little weary.

The Fellowship of the Ring is the first of three movies that follow the story of 'The One Ring' and the brave, but strange races of men that are tasked with it's protection. This is pure fantasy indulgence and never makes any attempt to be anything else. The first thing of note is the shear scale on which this project has been produced on. We are talking along the lines of Gladiator times ten. Every individual scene has been constructed to represent the fairy tale land in which it is based. From the battle grounds of the opening scene (which is a marvel to watch on the big screen) to the Elven city of Rivendale and the dark and dangerous dwarf mines are all detailed marvelously and really draw you into the story.

The running time of the film stands at a bum numbing 3 hours. So does the film contain enough twists, turns, action and surprises to avoid the customary watch glancing that sometimes goes hand in hand with other movies of similar length? Well I can say without a doubt that there was so may fascinating events unfolding subtly on the screen that the film has been improved upon by it's running time. Not once did I feel I was being force fed the story but instead felt I was being gently swept along with the events. The continual change in pace meant that after a furious battle scene you would get a nice dialogue section to keep the flow.

When filming some of the cast spent two birthday's in New Zealand and the core nine had tattoos of the number 9 to represent their unique experience. The 'unique' word is the key here. As Star Wars was to Science Fiction, The Fellowship of the Ring is to Fantasy. The following two movies, I believe, will be just as popular as the follow up flicks to Star Wars were. A unique epic that has done J R R Tolkien proud.

One thing to be aware of. In front of me in the cinema sat a young boy about 9 years old with his mum. He looked very eager at the prospect of seeing cute little dwarves and elves playing around on the screen. His face was soon turned upside down when Lord Sauron appeared on the screen in a dark, smeltering wasteland and began killing people. He managed about 15 minutes before his mum removed him, crying. Although in the UK it is rated PG, in my mind it should have been a Certificate 12. There were some genuinely scary moments that caught even me, a hardened horror freak, by surprise. Parents be warned.

Key Area	Rating (out of 5)	Comment
Action		The battle scene at the start of the film is one of the best I have ever seen, beating similar style moments in Gladiator and The Mummy Returns. After that you can expect plenty of sword and sorcery melee and loads of dark hordes clashing in style with the forces of righteousness. Yeah, bring it on!!
Thrills/ Tension		Some great build ups to the action scenes that leave you a little damp in the pant's area. Sit close to the younger viewers as they might fold under the pressure.
Violence/ Gore		Gore factor is low due to the PG13 rating but it does contain a moderate amount of violence. Due to the deliberate nature of the cinematography, this is mainly shown in a fast and frantic close-up style that allows only a glimpse of violence but exaggerates the action.
Bare Flesh	NONE	It's an adult fairytale, but it's not that adult.
Plot		A story so historic and familiar before it was made into a film could not really go wrong as far as the plot is concerned. I am glad to see that the Tolkien novel was adhered to and respected.

Verdict Like a trip to Disney Land, you would be missing an experience if you did not go and see it. A true cinema masterpiece that has been handled with care, respect and true professionalism. Peter Jackson has come a long long way from his directorial birth and I look forward to his next two films. Catch this classic now.

The most dazzling fantasy film ever seen.