“The Lord of the Rings” trilogy feels likes one long film based on the battle of good over evil for Middle Earth. The story begins with “The Fellowship of The Ring” which was released in 2001.
In “The Fellowship of the Ring,” the responsibility to return one corruptible ring – capable of destroying Middle Earth to the Mountain of Fire where it was forged – falls on the little Mr. Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood), the Hobbit.
Frodo’s friend Samwise “Sam” Gamgee (Sean Astin) offers to accompany him while “The Fellowship of The Ring” is formed to protect them. The fellowship includes; Gandalf the Grey (Ian McKellen), Sam, Merry, Pippin, elf Legolas (Orlando Bloom) dwarf Gimli, Boromir of Gondor (Sean Bean), and Aragorn (Viggo Mortenson), rightful heir to throne of Gondor. “The Fellowship of the Ring” would mark the beginning of a long and harrowing journey.
You begin to get a real sense of how brilliant the filmmaker Peter Jackson is from the minute the sequel “The Two Towers” starts. Continuity is sometimes a rarity in big budget films. But one is first blown away by how “The Two Towers” took off from where “The Fellowship of The Ring” ended.
The story gets darker in “The Two Towers.” It is where we are introduced to Gollum. As weird as this character seemed, it would turn out to be extremely compelling one of the favourite characters in the trilogy. Gollum was originally a Hobbit and known as Smeagol. It was unfortunate to come in contact with the ring. And was corrupted. Through the years, Smeagol morphed into Gollum – a creature that moves on four limbs. Gollum is portrayed by Andy Serkis. His acting coupled with some amazing visual effects made this creature phenomenal. Gollum is at its best when it is having a crisis of conscience and soliloquies.
The remarkable thing about “The Lord of The Rings” triology is that each film has its defining moment. It is difficult to pick a favourite.
Yet, by the concluding part, “The Return of The King,” the audience get most memorable moments. First, when Sam said to Frodo, ‘Come on Mr. Frodo. I can’t carry it for you. But I can carry you.’ Then when Aragorn, although newly crowned king said, ‘My friends, you bow to no one.’ And he bent the knee to the four Hobbits, and all his subjects followed suit. What a moment that was?
“The Lord of The Rings” trilogy is a classic. But if your love for the fantasy-film genre came later in life, you can still catch up on these films on Netflix.
