Sometimes I think that this page should be dedicated to trumpeting those smaller areas of pop culture that don't get enough of the spotlight; things that people should know about but haven't heard of yet. Then there are times when I want to scrap that sense of community service and revel in big, big, big, movies. This review of Lord of the Rings is most certainly in the later category.

Every review of this film seems to come with a brief mention of the reviewers personal history of interest [or disinterest, as the case may be] of the source material. Lord of the Rings is one of the few book to movie adaptations I can think of that has this distinction. The original books have become such a part of Western civilization that it becomes hard to separate Tolkien's writing from the reviews of the adaptation of it. But no matter how many formerly serious movie critics suddenly find their inner child when they start gushing with nostalgia for Tolkien none of them are going to top Peter Jackson, director of the film and fan-boy at large. Since the plot itself has been discussed to death -plus I'm sure some loony has already posted a web page listing every little change from the book to the movie- I'm going to ramble on in my usual fashion instead of trying to fill you in on the various hobbits and other critters running around on screen.

First off, I never thought this movie would work. Film three movies at once about a series of books that support a fanatical following decades after their release? It's doomed to fail, right? The only thing that made me curious was that Peter Jackson was directing the whole thing. I've seen several of Jackson's movies and found his movies to vary a great deal. Some parts of them were well made while other sections were amateurish, pieces of genuine emotion -either heartfelt or disturbing- were sandwiched right next to crude humor. The only consistent thing found in his movies was that they were weird. The man who had made Heavenly Creatures, Braindead [a.k.a. Dead Alive], and Meet the Feebles was going to head one of the most expensive movie projects ever undertaken? Someone gave $300 million to the guy who had muppets screwing on-screen? I had to see this movie.

Turned out Jackson was the man for the job. Every scene in Lord of the Rings looks like it was labored over until it fit exactly what Jackson had seen in his mind's eye. Jackson manages to make the movie work as a story in it's own right, letting his creative impulses propel the movie forward instead of being shackled to the changes that have to be made in an adaptation. Not only does Jackson manage to tell the story in a way that's more or less understandable -which is no small feat in and of itself- he managed to cram the movie with as many special effects shots as were in the last Star Wars movie but, unlike the adventures of Jar Jar and company, made it all work. My doubts about the movie evaporated within the first few moments when not only did the prologue actually make sense but Sauron, the over-riding bad guy of the story, lumbered onto the scene in a giant suit of armor and started punting people through the air like they were golf balls. Compotent and foolishly entertaining; what more could twelve year old boys of all ages and genders ask for from a movie?

True, the menagerie of monsters running about were very impressive. Yes, the forced perspective, changes in set and prop size and the occasional stand-in made the differences in sizes between the characters seem very believable. But what really sold the movie was the wigs. As Gandalf, Ian McKellen gets to sport one of the most incredible wigs ever seen in movie history. Long, flowing, unkempt locks flowed down over his head and tangled up into in his shaggy beard. He looked so awesome. I've had this thought in the back of my mind for some time but after seeing a Shakespearean actor like McKellen sluff about with a mop of hair I've now vowed that when I hit retirement age I'm going to do all I can to make myself look like a fairy tale wizard. I'll forgo shaving or getting my hair cut and walk around all day in a bath robe I stole from Holiday Inn; I'll look great. Plus, just imagine what sort of an embarrassment I'll be to my family. "Mommy, why does our grandpa not look like the other grandpas in the retirement home?" In addition to my normal name I'll also answer to "Merlin." I can't wait, but I seem to have wandered off topic. Speaking of wigs, while Christopher Lee as Saruman has to make due with a beard and wig that look like they have been combed sometime in the past decade, he does get the added benefit of looking like Mick Fleetwood. Also, between showing up in all three Rings movies and the next Star Wars movie, it seems that Lee is finally enjoying a resurgence in popularity. Who knew?

While the wigs steal every scene they're in what really makes the movie work is the ridiculous size of the thing. Not only are you bowled over by the sheer weight of watching a three hour movie but in the back of your mind you never forget that there are two more movies of the series coming soon and they are going to be every bit as huge. That's nine solid hours of movie making coming at you. There have been movie sequels before but this is one of the few times someone has decided to make three movies more or less simultaneously and punch them out machine gun style once a year. With all the principle filming already in the can it's assured that Ewoks won't start sprouting up in the final film or that someone involved won't start to second guess their creative choices. All three films will undoubtedly have the same tone to them, so if the next two are as much fun as this first film of Lord of the Rings it should be a very entertaining time at the movies.

Still, since it looks like Lord of the Rings is going to be a success, it does make me wonder where movies are going to go from here. Are more package deals like this going to be made now? It will all probably look so good on paper but I doubt any post-Rings movies are going to work quite like this one has. Just imagine, soon not only will you get to feel the disappointment that comes with seeing a bad movie, you'll also have to contend with the sinking feeling that the sequel is already finished and will be clogging up movie screens like something backing up in a sink in a few short months. Instead of lousy movies having lousy sequels we'll get them all filmed at once and avoid the hassle! Perhaps I'm being pessimistic again, especially since large movies have always been with us, but it will be interesting to see what comes next now that Rings is raising the bar. Don't, however, let my grousing discourage you from seeing Lord of the Rings. It's the big, crazy Ten Commandments sort of epic movie making that Hollywood should be doing instead of the lame pseudo-epic Gladiator nonsense the viewing public has had to put up with in the recent past.

Oh yeah, I barely even talked about the movie I was reviewing this time out! Methinks I'm getting better at these reviews. Questions, comments, and elf poetry can be sent to gleep9@hotmail.com. Roll your twenty sided dice to move from off this page to either the Third Movie or Main page.