Its first premier in 2001 by Director Peter Jackson, who also has directed 12 other films, The Fellowship of the Ring includes actors such as Elijah Wood as Frodo Baggins, Ian Mckellen as Gandalf, Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn, Sean Astin as Samwise Gamgee, Orlando Bloom as Legolas, John Rhys-Davies as Gimli, Sean Bean as Boromir, Billy Boyd as Peregrin “Pippin” Took, and Dominic Monaghan as Meriadoc "Merry" Brandybuck, these 9 actors make up the Fellowship. The movie is entirely filmed in New Zealand.

A powerful ring is forged by the Dark Lord Sauron, using it in an attempt to conquer Middle Earth; however, in a great battle of Men and Elves against the Dark Lord, the ring was lost when Prince Isildur smites it off his hand. The physical force of Sauron destroyed, his life force was bound to the ring until it is destroyed; but, Isildur loses the ring in a river for 2,500 years before a creature called Gollum finds it and keeps it for centuries. Years later, a hobbit named Bilbo Baggins find the ring while on an adventure; and leaves it to Frodo Baggins 60 years later.
In the meanwhile, Sauron sends out riders of darkness, known as Nazgûl to go and find the ring then bring it to him so he may be returned to his former state. They then need to travel to Rivendell to speak with Elrond in a council about the ring. They find out the ring can only be destroyed when thrown into the volcano where it was forged. They also meet up with the rest of the Fellowship in Rivendell. On their journey, they decide to go through the Mines of Moria, where they are attacked by cave dwelling goblins and the Watcher in the Water, Gandalf gets lost to a mighty fire demon called the Balrog. Later on, after going to Lothlórien, they go to a place called Amen Hen, where a battle with the evil Uruk-hi, and get separated.

The performance by the actors is astounding; each one of them played their characters quite well. Each one of them played characters that seem difficult to play as, but really pull it off. The director, Peter Jackson, attempted to capture most of the book, leaving out parts such as the part where Merry and Pippin meet Tom Bombadil, he did though, try to capture the feel and look of Middle Earth, choosing New Zealand as the Filming spot for the movie. Due to the length of the book, they also required to shorten it down by cutting down in some of the scenes.

The general perception by the audience and the critics was that it was really well done, receiving an overall 8.8 out of 10. It won 4 out of 14 movie awards. The movie series was very successful, receiving some of the most money for the movie. Personally, the movie was really well done and has been able to capture the whole look and feeling of the book. Any person who doesn’t like fantasy or action movie would probably not like this movie, however, on the other hand, if you do, then it makes a really good movie to watch.


Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lord_of_the_Rings:_The_Fellowship_of_the_Ring
http://www.decentfilms.com/reviews/lordoftherings1