Power corrupts. Absolute power
corrupts absolutely. This is an old adage that has been the basis for
many a story. It is the primary plot device behind John Tolkien's The
Lord of the Rings classic. Written in 1954-55, with origins dating back
to 1937, the first of the three movie installments, which have already
been filmed, tries to stay true to the mystical world present in the
book. The resulting effort is a definite success.
The
star of the story, and the film, is not a person, but an object, a
ring. The ring allows one to control a host of other rings handed down
to the different peoples of Middle Earth: three rings belong to the
immortal elves; seven to the dwarfs; and nine rings to mortal humans.
The ring that rules all the others, forged using the fires of Mount Doom
by the evil Wizard Sauron (Sala Baker), gives its holder so much power
that it corrupts all those who seek to wear it, even the purest.
Of
course, there are some peoples that are more pure than others. Humans
generally seem incapable of wearing it without being corrupted by its
influence (no surprise there). But there exists a diminutive people, the
Hobbits, who do seem at least capable of carrying it without being
polluted too much. It falls upon one Hobbit, Frodo Baggins (Elijah
Wood), to take the ring to Mt. Doom, which is the only place where it
can be destroyed.
Frodo
is aided in his quest by the wizard Gandalf (Ian McKellen), the elf
Legolas Greenleaf (Armando Bloom), the dwarf Gimli (John Rhys-Davies),
two humans Strider aka Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen) and Boromir (Sean
Bean), and three other Hobbits including Frodo's friend Samwise Gamgee
(Sean Astin). The story chronicles how Frodo, being a reluctant hero,
travels through mysterious and dangerous lands of breathtaking beauty,
and fights terrific monsters in the context of awesome towers and
citadels, to achieve his goal.
Perhaps
one of the most visionary aspects about Tolkien's work is how he set
the stage for a Dungeons and Dragons style video-game. Director Peter
Jackson imbibes to the film the same feel present the book, in terms of
traversing a diverse variety of landscapes, while encountering a diverse
variety of creatures, friend and foe alike. Watching the film, it's
easy to become mesmerised by the fantasy that is unfolding purely based
on the cinematography.
Like
with Joanne Rowling's Harry Potter (or for that matter, Stephen King's
It), this film does not live up what I imagined, but it does a great job
of presenting what Jackson and his co-workers imagined. The special
effects are spectacular and meticulously done, perhaps even better than
those observed in Harry Potter. There are no cop-outs here and every
place that it matters, the effort and the expense have been evidently
put in. The soundtrack sometimes overwhelms the dialogue, of which there
is a lot, interspersed between the action sequences. Do not miss seeing
this on the big screen. This is how movies should be made.
