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The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

Technical wizardry?

THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING
Director: Peter Jackson
Cert: PG. 3 hours

There was an attempt to bring Tolkien's gripping yarn to the silver screen in the 1970s, but it was an utter disaster. Now technology has caught up with the demands of the story of the one ring, crafted by the evil Sauron the Great, and the quest of hobbits, dwarves, elves and men to destroy it.

The film will not please Tolkien purists, but if you go to see it with no great expectations you will find Peter Jackson's version a commendable attempt at adaptation to the screen. The visual effects from panoramic fantastical cities to grizzly mountain trolls are breath-taking. For an hour or so after our family saw it, the discussion was as much about the technical wizardry of getting the hobbit characters to look so small alongside the human characters as it was about Gandalf's enchantments.

Cuts

Obviously, there had to be a lot left out of Tolkien's plot to condense the action even into three hours. There are also a few unforced changes of plot which will be vexing for anyone who loves the original. The feminine profile in the story was boosted by comparison with the book, but even so, a young lady in our party found it 'boring'. The evil orcs et al are indeed horribly frightening, and I would think the film could give children below eight years old some terrible nightmares. By general agreement, the strongest acting performances came from Ian McKellen as Gandalf and Sean Bean as Boromir.

Warnings and encouragements

The film carries a number of warnings to our world. The attempted seduction of Gandalf by the argument that when evil looks invincible the only way out is to compromise with it, is more than pertinent to us. Also, as the new breed of orcs is seen hatching from the spawn in Isengard one wonders how long it will be before the idea of manufacturing sub-humans to do our dirty work for us and fight our wars will be offered as a viable and 'reasonable' possibility by genetic engineering?

But as a Christian I have always found The Lord of the Rings a profoundly encouraging book. It not only tells us that little people can make all the difference, but more grittily, in many ways it mirrors the hazardous journey of the Christian life. Tolkien's ring is such a potent evocation of the subtlety, power and danger of indwelling sin in its various forms which we must carry with us and battle against until our final redemption. We too, like Frodo and the rest, face forces of wickedness in high places who would use the 'ring' to destroy us. Our journey is often lonely and wearisome, only now and again relieved by a Rivendell or Lothlorien, and we must keep going to the end. As an imaginative reminder of Jesus's call to persevere and press on, come what may, it is hard to beat.

JEB
John Benton