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The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring
Review by Mike Furches (Mike's bio)
Directed by Peter Jackson
Screenplay by Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens and Peter Jackson
Novel: J. R. R. Tolkien
Elijah Wood ... Frodo
Sean Astin ... Sam
Sean Bean ... Boromir
Cate Blanchett ... Galadriel
Orlando Bloom ... Legolas
Billy Boyd ... Pippin
Ian Holm ... Bilbo
Ian McKellen ... Gandalf
Christopher Lee ... Saruman
Dominic Monaghan ... Merry
Viggo Mortensen ... Aragorn
John Rhys-Davies ... Gimli
Liv Tyler ... Arwen
Hugo Weaving ... Elrond
MPAA: Rated PG-13 for epic battle sequences and some scary images.
I have to admit that when I was much younger I tried reading The Lord of the Rings and was frankly not impressed. I thought that Tolkien was far too descriptive and I never quite understood the story line. I struggled through the first book of the trilogy and never completed the series. I remember moving on to the stories by C.S. Lewis, like, The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe. I have said for years, "I just didn't need a chapter to describe the beard and eyebrows of Gandalf."
For a number of reasons I decided to wait to see the movie later on in its release, one of those reasons was to let the more seasoned Tolkien readers interpret the movie. I believe it is about time to hear the opinions of one who is not a Tolkien disciple to give his impression, especially since I haven't seen many reviewers that admit they are not dedicated followers. Shucks, for that matter I have already admitted that I have never read all of the books.
Prior to my thoughts on the film I must state that as I have gotten older, one of the things I have learned to appreciate in literature, either film, or written, is allegory. While I was younger I realize that I didn't fully appreciate or understand this concept. I believe that is natural for a younger person however and is an appreciation that ferments with time and wisdom. Not to say that I am wise by any means but I certainly have had time to develop at least more wisdom since my mid teen years.
With the above said, I must say that I fully expected The Lord of the Rings to make it into my top 100 list of all time movies because of what I had already read about the movie. What I didn't expect was it to fall into my all time top 10 or even top 5 but this movie did just that. The Lord of the Rings is a brilliant movie with numerous parallels between good and evil. I have seen few movies that have told this story to the magnitude of this fine, fine film. Technically, everything from the casting to the story itself is fascinating and visually stunning. As far as film making goes it is as perfect as any movie ever made. What I will say is that the movie was so good that I am planning on going back and reading all of the books, and I plan to start over with the first book. I realize now that I have probably matured enough that I will enjoy them much more than I did when I was younger. I'll also say that the story loses very little on the screen. At least for me, the ability to add visually increased my ability to understand the story and this is one of those movies that is possibly better understood from watching it on screen than from reading it in print. This is a hard pill to swallow, especially from one who enjoys writing and reading as much as I do.
While I could spend a great deal of time commenting on this film technically, I find it essential to comment on other components that draw parallels between faith, particularly the Christian faith, and mankind.
While I was leaving the theater one of the comments brought up to me was that the film just seemed to end and of course there was the death of some of the primary characters that were loved and appreciated which my family and others did not understand. Reading what I have of the books and from doing some investigation I was reminding them that they needed to remember that the story does not end with this one movie. There were two more books to be told and we just needed to be patient because the movies were already made. There are numerous other components of the film that dealt with issues such as friendship, love, sacrifice, faith and many more. This is a movie that is easy to spoil but believe me those issues are dealt with beautifully in this film and in ways that should challenge the viewer to become stronger in each category.
There is one other issue dealt with in the film that I will mention. I have heard many Christians, of all people, be critical of the film because of it's portrayal of evil. "It was too scary." "Inappropriate for young children." "The story was just dark." These and other comments confounded me, especially with the PG-13 rating the film had received. My own personal view is that there are parts of the film that could be scary, for especially young children, however, I would recommend that parents still take their children to see the film, especially if they are familiar with the story line. My son, 12, loved the film and the action. He had many of the same questions at the end of the movie but he was genuinely interested in my parallels to Christianity on the drive home. While at times he gets bored with my approach here he had a visual image that made the translation much easier to understand. He had a better understanding of evil and the horrors of evil. The opportunity to discuss the spiritual components of evil as well as the sacrifice needed to overcome that evil is evident in this film. Being able to relate the Gospel clearly to those of all ages who do not know of the similar sacrifices that Jesus made to save mankind are evident.
I also appreciated the aspect of friendship and love that was portrayed. Lessons of real love and real friendship, to stick it out no matter how hard the difficulties, even when we are in water way over our heads and can't swim. These images can parallel a dedication to follow those we love, and ultimately Jesus Christ. To have such a passion that we would exercise, without question, "deep water faith."
The Lord of the Rings is a film that I will see again and again, and I will look forward to each new adventure I find along the way. It is that kind of movie that makes this possible. It is the kind of film that still had a packed house several months after the initial opening. I expect it to be in theaters for a long time, and personally, I'm ready to get in line for the next movie in December.
10 months of willingness to wait for the next release has me giving a perfect and rare - 10.
Copyright 2002, Mike Furches. All Rights Reserved. Used by permission.
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About Mike Furches: Mike is the senior pastor of United at the Cross Community Church in Wichita, Kansas. The church, located in the inner city of Wichita has a unique ministry to former gang members, drug addicts, prostitutes and others often neglected by the church. Mike also is involved in freelance writing and speaks nationally. Check out his web page for more information: http://www.furches.org/ E-mail Mike |
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