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The wizard Gandalf returns to hobbit land Shire, in the quiet countryside, in time for the 111th
birthday celebration of Bilbo Baggins (Ian Holm) who has been longing for a holiday from which he wishes never to return. The whole village is in attendance, led by Bilbo's
young heir Frodo (Elijah Wood) to whom Bilbo must leave his most treasured possession, a ring that turns the wearer invisible. Far from being an ordinary magical ring, it is the ring,
forged by the Dark Lord Sauron, which is capable of corrupting the wearer. Sauron's servants, the Ring Wraiths, are out to scour Middle Earth for that ring, since nothing can
stop Sauron once it is returned to him. A war threatens all of the world and the only way to stop the evil is to destroy the ring by casting it into the fire where it was
forged—in Mordor, on Sauron's very doorstep. The dreaded task falls on the shoulders of Frodo. Eight others join Frodo in his task as ring bearer, and together the nine travel
through strange lands and face even stranger creatures while keeping their fellowship free of mistrust.
You need not read the book in order to appreciate this epic of a movie. A voiceover prologue
explains the background concisely, and from there the action proceeds, straightforward and stunning in the film's well-crafted blend of breathtaking scenery and sorcery. A
more cerebral appreciation of the film would reveal that director Peter Jackson and cinematographer Andrew Lesnie employed all available assets and tricks to create a
different kind of reality in …Rings: intelligent acting, deceptive camera angles, miniatures, matte paintings, marvelous set designs, shooting locations that are simply
out of this world, plus, of course, the tool that has made the movie an opus for today—computer technology. The outcome is a film that weds myth and truth, action and
reflection, naivete and philosophy, picture and poetry into one believable whole that can carry away the viewer to author J.R.R. Tolkien's glorious world. …Rings is
almost technically perfect that at the end of 178 minutes it could leave you shouting "More! More!"
But just because there is no "impure act" in …Rings doesn't mean it's clean enough for
children. The battle scenes could tire adults and produce nightmares in children which no amount of "parental guidance" may prevent. It is an adventure fantasy for adults who
stand to learn a great deal about choice, moral commitment and deep friendship. The ring itself is a metaphor for greed and the lust for power—forged by evil, it attracts evil
beings and corrupts whoever possesses and abuses it. The ring doesn't do much in the story—mostly it just gleams as it hangs on a chain around Frodo's neck—but the action
woven around it can lead you gently to realize the need for true strength to come from within, and to see that while we cannot choose the events in our lives, we can choose
how to act when they happen. It is a good-versus-evil masterpiece that can reminds us that to the pure of heart, it is easy to embrace responsibility and to brave death for
the good of the community. And it whispers to us the message that even the smallest person beset by human fears can change the course of the failure. Inspiring? Yes, yes, yes.
(Date reviewed: January 11, 2002)
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