The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

AroView: Monumental fantasy-epic and filmmaking accomplishment for local-boy-made-good Peter Jackson, transmutes the first part of J R R Tolkien’s trilogy and its overflowing universe of hobbits, elves, orcs, wizards and men into a storytelling rollercoaster.

Elijah Wood and Ian McKellen anchor the emotional drama as centre of a fellowship questing to destroy the powerful piece of jewellery before it can be wedded to the forces of evil, though they are just two threads in a remarkable ensemble vision. Harnessing the talents of various top illustrators, CGI and miniature f/x and the splendours of the NZ landscape, proceedings also get an infusion of dark realism (appropriate to the maker of BRAINDEAD) which forestalls any of the potential mumbo-jumbo pretensions of the narrative.