The Fellowship of the Ring is my favourite movie of all time, especially the extended version, which is superior to the original theatrical release in every added scene. What is most amazing is its deep human drama in midst of all the special effects and its setting in a fantastic fantasy world. Many of the principal characters are very well developed, especially Aragorn and Frodo, with great performances by Viggo Mortensen and Elijah Wood. Also great are Ian McKellan and Christopher Lee.



The movie's plot is leagues beyond any conventional action/adventure film. Its structure is perfect from start to finish. In my opinion, the movie is much better than either the The Two Towers or The Return of the King of the Trilogy (in spite of the latter having won 11 Oscars). Two-third's of Tolkien's inspiration in the Trilogy was put into this first third of the Trilogy (eg. the ring's power to deceive Boromir and his subsequent redemption, and the sacrifice of Gandalf for the fellowship). It seems Peter Jackson, the director, also put more effort in this installment than the later ones (except for a last burst of greatness in the last 45 minutes or so of the Return of the King). The other two installments were overlong in some parts, and had some glaring weak moments (such as Sam's overdone speech in the Two Towers, and Elrond's surprise visit with Aragorn in the Return of the King).



The soundtrack works very well with all of the visuals. The special effects are better than those of many more recent action movies (eg. Spiderman, Catwoman). The DTS sound in the extended version (as with the extended versions of the other two in the trilogy) is demonstration class. The sound editing is also great. The cinematography is outstanding. A movie for all ages. I'm never bored of it after having watched it many times.