Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring - 10 Years On

Director: Peter Jackson
Cast: Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Viggo Mortensen, Sean Bean, Liv Tyler, Sean Astin, Christopher Lee
Plot: In a small village in the Shire Frodo Baggins (Wood) is entrusted with an ancient ring. Upon discovering it's true origin as the One Ring of Power Gandalf the Grey (McKellen) decides it must be destroyed in the fires of Mount Doom before its creator the Dark Lord Sauron reclaims it and enslaves Middle Earth.

It's hard to believe that this year will be the 10th anniversary of the first installment of the 'Lord of the Rings' film trilogy. 2001 saw Peter Jackson bring his fantasy epic to our screens with much anticipation, as at that time nothing had been produced on that scale with all three films being shot back to back in New Zealand. It was of course a massive success and garnered much acclaim and awards inlcuding four Oscars.

'Fellowship' is a brilliant, mesmerising film from start to finish and that is no mean feat with an 178 minute running time. That 3 hour running time could intimidate many people, but it really shouldn't because if you just sit back and relax, the hours fly by. Jackson does such an incredible job of transferring J.R.R Tolkien's source material to the silver screen and remains faithful to the books by keeping the same tone. There never comes a moment where a character or creature feels out of place in the Middle Earth he has created and that is a remarkable achievement - one that many thought couldn't be done.

Every element of Jackson's film feels like it would have been done the same had Tolkien been the director. From the cast to the sets, to the costumes and Howard Shore's unforgettable score; everything feels quintessentially Tolkien. And ten years on it all still holds up, the make up and effects would still look fantastic today - with the exception of maybe the cave troll in the film's most memorable action set piece.

Ian McKellen earned an Academy Award nomination for his turn as the wise wizard Gandalf and it is easy to see why. McKellen really takes control of every scene he is in showing both sides to the wizard's intriguing personality. Every role is perfectly cast, especially Elijah Wood as the heavily burdened Frodo Baggins. He is the story's heart and a bad Frodo means a bad movie, but there are no such worries here with Wood capturing the young hobbit's conflicting emotions more than anyone could have wished. Comic relief is provided by dwarf Gimli and hobbit duo Merry and Pippin, which doesn't always work but there are a few chuckles in the more light hearted scenes.

As the start of a story 'Fellowship' does a great job of introducing the heroes, villians and the quest without getting too bogged down in the mythology of 'Lord of the Rings' (which there is more than enough of). Jackson took some liberties with the source material omitting and changing certain elements, but all for the sake of a making a more cohesive story and introducing the world of Middle Earth in a more simplistic way. 'Fellowship' does do the best job of telling the story out of the trilogy and is certainly less plot driven than its more war heavy continuations.

What seemed magical 10 years ago remains the same today. The first 'Lord of the Rings' has lost none of the brilliance that made it such a success in 2001. As an example of how to adapt a much loved book 'Felllowship of the Ring' is the bar setter. While there may not be as much action as the two epics that came after, it hardly stops 'Fellowship' from being part one of the most impressive adaptation of a book seen on screen to date.

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