Spotlight #10 - The Lord of the Rings

Well, guys; Thanksgiving is over, and the conclusion to Peter Jackson's "the Hobbit" franchise is just around the corner. I figured that If I'm going to call myself a critic, (more of a broke artist with an ego) I might as well review all of the Middle Earth saga while I'm here. So, this week, we're looking at "the Lord of the Rings," quite possibly one of the greatest things to grace a movie theater. Sure, technically, it's a trilogy, but they all work so well with one another, almost more-so than "Back to the Future" which is actually divided into parts. These films, however, manage to tell a massive story with so many inspiring moments, visual effects, and sound design so cleverly that I'm going to do my best to summarize everything about them in one article.

If you know me, you know what I'm going to say about these. If not, here we go.

For those of us who haven't seen this in the past twelve years it's been out, the film chronicles J.R.R. Tolkien's story of Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood), a Hobbit of the Shire in one of the more domesticated areas of the land of Middle Earth. His uncle Bilbo, the hero of the prequel story "the Hobbit", takes off to retire with the wise and hospitable elves, leaving his nephew with the ring of power he came across on his journeys. Unfortunately for Frodo, who eventually discovers that the ring actually holds the soul of an ancient Dark Lord whose only wish is to destroy the world. The only way it can be destroyed is to burn it in the heart of the mountain where it was first made- in the heart of said Dark Lord's homeland. It is now up to him and a fellowship of eight other members to brave armies of evil beings, the decaying governments of the kingdoms of men, and the seductive power of the ring itself.

And that's all in the first movie!

Really, any way I could describe it wouldn't do the story justice. It is a truly massive tale, and it's full to the brim of details that hold all sorts of weight. In reality, I wish I could have spent three spotlights on them, one for each entry. With nine hours, they were able to give so much detail to everything, from the distant politics of Middle Earth to the more down-to-earth themes of simple friendship. Almost every character feels very much alive and, even if they don't in cases like Gimli and Legolas, at the very least they're likable. This could just as easily be attributed to Tolkien himself, but it's surprising how well everything he wrote down translated to the screen.
Naturally, credit has to go to the guys at Weta Digital for the incredible visuals. Up until this point, not many fantasy movies were given this kind of attention, so Lord of the Rings got it and ran wild with it. Tolkien's universe demanded it, with everything from laming demons, over-sized elephants towering over climactic battles, an army of tree-herders assaulting the mills of a corrupt wizard, and so on. Of course, there's also the case of Gollum: not only one of the best-rendered 3-D characters, but also one of the most complex and expertly-acted. What's equally amazing, though, is how much they were able to accomplish without computers. Nowadays, everything has become overlayed with a plastic CG coat as per being a movie with CG in it, so it's jarring to see some of the monsters and sets come to life with something as practical as a scale model. It's certainly one of the most realistic views of a fantasy realm, if there was ever such a thing, and I'm still wishing that there were more movies out there like it.
It's hard to keep this review going because, as much as there is to say about it, there's little to say about the series as a whole that hasn't already been said. It's massive, it's engaging both visually and sentimentally, and it's essential for every movie-goer's collection. If you've seen it, this is pretty obligatory and you already love it. If you haven't, invest those fifty dollars in this series. DVD or Blu-Ray, Theatrical or Extended, it doesn't matter too much. Take it home, watch all three, and you'll finally be able to join the conversations everyone has about how much they...

Please do it before the final Hobbit movie comes out. If you haven't heard those out and about, well then...

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