June 10, 2002

Breaking the Records
Wild Child

I am fairly new to the world of Tolkien, and have become obsessed with the adaptation of the Trilogy presented by New Line Cinema, as well as all of these websites that talk of it. I am also fascinated by all of your comments and as a result have begun reading the Simarillion.

I am a huge film critic, and let me just say that as a film, Fellowship was far superior to anything to come out of Hollywood for the past several years. It was fascinating to watch, and every element of the film was magnificent, with the exception of poorly done CGI in some parts.

For those of us who love fantasy, it feels like there has never been a film to bring the genre justice until now. It is my beleif that Fellowship is the first Fantasy film to EVER win an academy award. Dragonslayer was nominated, but didn't win, (correct me if I'm wrong) Willow was nominated, but didn't win, and all those others like Conan and Krull weren't taken seriously enough to ever be noticed. Personally I have been waiting a long time for a GOOD fantasy movie to come out. There have been so many dumb ones that people have pretty much ignored trying to make new ones, and forgotten about the old but few good ones.

Fellowship stands out. It reaches into the depths of the human soul and defines what true friendship is, what true devotion is, what true love and what true hate are. It tells us that Fantasy doesn't have to be limited to cheesiness, and pathetic acting. It shows us that of all things, a good Fantasy really can be made. This film has broken the record for the genre, and I must say that even though it isn't perfectly adherent to the book, it fulfilled my every expectation and more.