Well, the Coronavirus is still raging, and we've all (Most of us, anyway) got a lot of time at home on our hands as a result of it, so I hit upon an idea, to examine a series of films on the Nightcrawler Experience, as well as satisfying a request that my friend Jonah made for the blog years ago:
A devotional look at each film in the 'Lord of the Rings' trilogy!
They are three very long films (Especially since I'll be viewing the Extended versions of them, and I recommend that all of you do the same as most of the deleted scenes do indeed add a lot to the story, whether through plot advancement or just sheer entertainment value), so the Coronavirus quarantine period is the perfect time for me to re- watch them and post faith- based reviews on them here.
The 'Lord of the Rings' trilogy is of course based on the book series of the same name by J.R.R. Tolkien, as sequels to his previous book 'The Hobbit.'
We begin with the first film in the trilogy, 'The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.'
Through an opening flashback, we learn that the dark lord Sauron, thousands of years before the story took place, attempted to take over the world of Middle Earth with the aid of a magic ring, the One Ring, that among other things, greatly amplified his power. He was defeated, and the Ring separated from him, but the human king who took the Ring was soon corrupted by its addictive power, and refused to destroy it (Which in turn would have completely destroyed Sauron forever). The Ring was lost for many thousands of years, then found by the creature Gollum, who kept it with him for a few centuries, with it warping his mind and body in the process.
Then, in the events of 'The Hobbit,' the hobbit (A small, normally- unimpressive humanoid creature normally not made for battles or adventures) Bilbo Baggins took the Ring from him. Bilbo kept the Ring for sixty years in his home in the peaceful Hobbit village known as the Shire, with the Ring unnaturally preserving his life/ youth. Eventually, he left and went to the Elven city of Rivendell, leaving the Ring (Which was already starting to corrupt Bilbo's personality somewhat) and the rest of his possessions to his nephew, Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood).
At this point, Sauron is preparing to return and again try and conquer Middle Earth, but needs the Ring in order to do this, so he sends a group of corrupted formerly- human creatures known as the Ringwraiths to try and hunt down the Ring.
Eventually, Frodo, his best friend Sam (Sean Astin), a couple wisecracking fellow Hobbit friends named Merry and Pippin, and a human ranger known as Strider (Viggo Mortensen) who was guiding and protecting them, all leave the Shire and make it to Rivendell. There, a council is formed with leaders from various groups and races all over Middle Earth, to decide what to do about this. They decide to create a group, known as the Fellowship of the Ring, to travel across Middle Earth and destroy the Ring by throwing it into the fires of Mount Doom, where it was first created.
In addition to the four Hobbit friends and Strider (Whom we soon learn is actually named Aragorn, and is the rightful heir to the throne of one of the human kingdoms there), the group also includes the wise and powerful wizard Gandalf (Ian McKellen), the hotheaded Dwarf warrior Gimli (John Rhys- Davies), the Elven prince/ master archer Legolas (Orlando Bloom), and a human warrior and nobleman named Boromir (Sean Bean).
This group travels over a far region, and has many perilous adventures, before leading to a cliffhanger ending and the group splitting up in pursuit of different goals.
If I had to nit pick about any real faults with 'The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring,' other than its length, about all I can think of would involve something concerning the Ringwraiths. These hooded humanoids look scary and all, but they let out these shrill, piercing shrieks that got on my nerves after a while.
Other than that, 'The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring' is a great movie and a wonderful way to get started on the series. It was so much better than the previous attempt to do a movie adaptation of the books (A bizarre, trippy animated version from the late 1970's directed by Ralph Bakshi that made the entire story seem really boring).
It explained the storyline in a way that was interesting, and still easy to understand for most viewers.
It has loads of great action sequences all throughout it, with my favorite being a lengthy battle between the Fellowship and the orc army in the underground Dwarven kingdom of Moria, culminating in Gandalf's unforgettable confrontation with the Balrog, a terrifying monster of shadow and flame.
The Fellowship are a great, interesting, diverse group of characters. Frodo and the other Hobbits have a nice bond with each other, you really get the sense that they had been close friends ever since they were young. In particular, Sam's shown to be an extremely loyal and devoted friend to Frodo, always right by his side. Merry and especially Pippin also bring a lot of humor to the film.
Aragorn makes for a good, strong leader to the group, you can definitely see both the ragtag ranger warrior he is, and the noble king he eventually will become. My mom didn't like the fact that she thought his hair looked too "Greasy," but hey, it's not like a woodland ranger would have access to a lot of top- notch hair- care products!
Gandalf is a wonderful mentor, with strength (Again, it's amazing to see him fight the Balrog), immense wisdom, and yet also kindness and compassion. He's shown to be a mighty ally in battle, a wise adviser in tough times, and also a fun friend to hang out with in good times (The fireworks he brings to the Shire to help celebrate Bilbo's birthday party are a marvelous sight to see).
My favorite character would have to be Gimli the Dwarf. He works well in a lot of different ways. He's shown to be a brave and capable fighter, has some good serious moments (i.e. A scene when he mourns the death of a relative of his is quite touching), and yet also makes for a great comic- relief character to help break the tension in some scenes.
The music for it (For the entire series, actually, but I'm focusing on this, as the music used in this was integral to the score in the rest of the trilogy) is top- notch, as well. The central theme for the Ring has a quiet, mysterious tone. The main action- theme for the films, in contrast, is loud, exciting, and gets your blood pumping. Probably my favorite bit of music in the movie, though, is the theme music for the Shire. It has such a pretty, small- village theme to it, perfectly fitting the beautiful, homey imagery of the Shire.
One scene that remains one of the best parts of the movie for me lies in the end; Frodo leaves the Fellowship, intent on getting to Mount Doom on his own before any of the Fellowship are corrupted by the Ring. Frodo begins rowing across a river in a boat, only to discover that Sam is running into the water after him, even though he can't swim. Even as the water gets deeper and Frodo tells him to go back, Sam keeps going. Eventually, the water is too deep to stand in, and Sam starts drowning, but Frodo gets him and pulls him into the boat. Sam then sobbingly says, "I made a promise, Mr. Frodo. A PROMISE! 'Don't you leave him, Samwise Gamgee!' And I don't mean to. I don't mean to." Sean Astin's performance as Sam in that scene is so poignant, I'll never forget it. The truest picture of what loyalty looks like.
In short, 'Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring' is a marvelous film, a great launching- point for the series, and perfect quarantine- viewing.
One of the main reasons why I've decided to do this series, other than my friend's suggestion, is because the 'Lord of the Rings' films all contain a lot of good Scriptural messages, and this one is no exception.
I think the first theological message that 'The Fellowship of the Ring' contains is on the dangerous, corrupting nature of sin. We see in the movie how even good people can be driven astray. Gandalf's former ally and friend, the equally powerful wizard Saruman, becomes evil and sides with Sauron. Saruman was at one time a great force for good in Middle Earth, but he simply lost hope, came to believe that the now- returned Sauron could not be defeated, and joined up with him instead in the interest of survival and gaining even more power.
This could be seen as similar to King Solomon, the son of David. For many years of his reign, he was a good king, as his father was, and was known for his wisdom. As time went on, however, this good king became corrupted. 1 Kings 11 describes how Solomon married many women from other nations that did not know God, and that God prohibited His followers from intermarrying with. In Solomon's old age, these wives convinced him to turn from the Lord (Who had personally appeared to him not once but TWICE) and instead worship the foul pagan deities they worshiped. The Lord was greatly angered by this, and decreed that, because of Solomon becoming so corrupted, the kingship of Israel would be taken from his family line and given to another after he died.
This corrupting nature can also be seen in the movie through the character Boromir. While a heroic and respected warrior with a strong sense of honor, Boromir becomes entranced with the power the Ring possesses, and near the end attempts to forcefully take it from Frodo (Sean Bean demonstrates remarkable emotional range as Boromir in this scene, going from amiably chatting with Frodo to furiously attacking him for the Ring in less than two minutes). He has good intentions; He believes the Ring can be used for good, and that he can use it to help his people in their struggle against Sauron's forces, and we learn in an extended version of the sequel, 'The Two Towers,' that he was also heavily pressured by his father Denethor into seeking the Ring. Nevertheless, the corrupting nature of the Ring drives this good man into committing reprehensible acts against Frodo, whom he had previously sworn to protect.
However, Boromir repents of this failure. He regains his senses, realizes almost immediately the awful thing he's done, and in the brutal battle against the orc hordes that follows, he fights bravely, and dies a hero's death. As he is dying, Boromir confesses to Aragorn what he did, and Aragorn forgives him, telling him, "Go in peace, son of Gondor."
Like Boromir, we too can at times fall to sin and do things we shouldn't, even when we believed we would be so much stronger than that. Yet, also like Boromir, we can repent of our sins, humbly seek God's forgiveness for them, and He will joyously grant it to us. Jesus died for us to give us that opportunity. The Bible is, of course, filled with verses pointing this out. Proverbs 28:13 says that "Whoever conceals their sin does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy." 1 John 1:9 says "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and purify us of all unrighteousness." While we can be corrupted into doing what we shouldn't through the allure of sin, we can also be freed and forgiven from that corruption through Christ's love and mercy.
Another major theological lesson to be taken from 'The Fellowship of the Ring,' which can particularly apply to us during this time of quarantine, involves a brief discussion between Frodo and Gandalf about two- thirds of the way into the movie. Frodo, feeling scared and discouraged, tells Gandalf that "I wish the Ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened." Gandalf responds, "So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. All we have to do is decide what to do with the time that is given to us."
I'd imagine that, indeed, all of us feel about the current Coronavirus situation the same way that Frodo feels in this scene, that we wish none of this had happened to us. Nevertheless, as Gandalf points out, such things are not for us to decide, what matters is how we respond to them. Jesus, too, struggled at times with accepting the harder parts of what He was meant to do. This exchange between Frodo and Gandalf rather resembles Jesus's prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane, the night before His crucifixion. According to Matthew 26:39, He prayed "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as You will." He would much rather not have gone through the pain, death, and momentary separation from His Father that He knew were about to happen, but nevertheless was determined to obey His Father. May we all have the same spirit of obedience, in this current unpleasant time, and long after it, all through our lives.
So, there we have 'The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring': A wonderful film which teaches wonderful lessons about avoiding corruption of sin, finding redemption for when we do sin, and obeying God even when going through times we'd rather avoid.
That's it for this edition of the Nightcrawler Experience. Keep your eyes open for when I look at the next film in the 'Lord of the Rings' trilogy, which is coming very soon. Until then, may God bless you all!
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