Taking place 60 years after the events of The Hobbit: Part III: The Battle of The Five Armies (2014,), this time, the movie tells of the Dark Lord Sauron(Alan Howard,), who is seeking the One Ring, and to destroy Middle Earth. The Ring has found its way to Bilbo's young nephew, young hobbit Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood). The fate of Middle-earth hangs in the balance as Frodo, our new hero, and eight companions, form the Fellowship of the Ring begin their journey to Mount Doom in the land of Mordor, the only place where the Ring can be destroyed.

First off, WHAT ANA AMAZING CAST this movie has. Heck, this whole series has an amazing cast. But this one works so well too. Elijah Wood returns from his cameo in The Hobbit: Part I: An Unexptected Journey (2012,), as Frodo Baggins, Bilbo's young nephew. He is the main hero for the rest of this new trilogy. He is a really well-developed character and this new trilogy really shows Frodo's character evolution over the course of these next 3 movies. For this movie, Frodo is a worried, new, beginner, with his heroic qualities not yet evolved yet. Wood also displays this well for Frodo's character by Wood's excellent acting. And, Elijah Wood was REALLY young while filming this trilogy, around the age of 18 when this movie came out, and finishing at the age of 23 when The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King hit theaters back in 2003. And, his young age through this trilogy really helps you connect with this character more, and the perilous, long, epic journey awaiting him and his friends. Bilbo(now played by Ian Holm,), is now 111 years old, as 60 years have passed since the story of the final Hobbit movie finished. He is now writing his a book cleverly titled: "The Hobbit: There And Back Again" by Bilbo Baggins, chronicling his adventures in the Hobbit prequel trilogy. And, if we remember correctly, he still has the ring of Power with him, but it is slowly corrupting him towards evil and greed, driving him mad. Luckily, Gandalf is able to get it from him, and passes the Ring onto Frodo, who will go and destroy the ring. His acting, is well, bad. All he talks about is holding his ring, and that obsessions ruins Holm's performance, who's acting I was never a fan of anyway, so......

Speaking of Gandalf, Ian McKellen returns as Gandalf, and his power seems to have gotten stronger since the final Hobbit movie. Also, it is nostalgic for me to see him and Bilbo talk of their old adventures, but now, it is even more interesting that now he is going wit his nephew on a new adventure. McKellen's acting is as flawless as usual, and he really shows some care and genuine help for Frodo, and making sure this journey won't be TO difficult. Also joining Frodo on his journey besides Gandalf, are a few other great characters: Sean Astin(The Goonies, Rudy,), as Samwise "Sam" Gamgee, Frodo's best friend, is my 2nd favorite character in the movie, mostly due to Astin and his acting. He gives such a great acting performance as Sam, who shows some great friendship qualities, determination, and really cares to help Frodo on his journey. Yes, Rudy is Sean Astin's greatest acting job, and also one of the best acted roles of all time, but Sam should, if not already be somewhere VERY high on Astin's list of roles, and Hollywood's list of famous film roles. 

Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn, a mortal, a ranger, and the heir to the throne of Gondor, whose king was Aragorn's father, Isildur, who last held the Ring of Power after cutting it off of Sauron's finger in a battle(which later ended up in Bilbo's grasp, until passing it on to Frodo. Aragorn is another really great character, because out of all the characters, like Sam, he cares about Frodo the most, and will log the end of the earth to keep him safe and fight with him on his long, epic journey. He is a very skilled fighter with great determination, and Mortensen's acing works so well, and is portrayed brilliantly for this character. Orlando Bloom returns from The Hobbit trilogy, as Legolas, son of the Elf King, Thrandieul(Lee Pace.). Legolas, an elf, prince, and skilled archer is my favorite character. Why? HE IS AN ASBOLUTE BADASS! There is nothing this guy can't do. His archery skills put Katniss Everdeen and Hawkeye to shame, and Bloom's acting is also done so well. He plays the character with a little bit of arrogance, but it is controlled, and he cares about Frodo, and the friends he is traveling with. John Rhys-Davies plays Gimli, one of the last Dwarfs alive in Middle Earth. He is a very funny character, due to his brave heart, but yet very small stature. And, as the trilogy goes on, him and Legolas become both best friends, and fighting buddies. And Rhys-Davie's acting is done very well, and he gets so deep into his role, that I actually had no clue who was playing Gimli at first. Sean Bean as Boromir, one of Gondor's princes, and Aragorn's friend, also journeys with Frodo and his friends on his journey. Although, the ring that Frodo carries with him begins to drive Boromir mad, and almost has him kill Frodo, if not for him coming to his senses, and redeeming himself by defending Frodo from an upcoming Orc ambush. And yes, during that ambush, he sadly dies, but, for a Sean Bean character, that should be no surprise. But, s for this character, it is a very well-acted, and very well-developed role, detailing both inner struggle and redemption (something Frodo begins to have trouble with near this movie's middle.).

Billy Boyd as Peregrin "Pippin" Took is also another great character. Him and his best friend, played by Dominic Monaghan as Meriadoc "Merry" Brandybuck are 2 very funny characters. They are Hobbits as well, and accompany Frodo on his journey Pippin and Merry are mostly the comic relief for this movie, and they are very likable characters. Cate Blanchett also returns as Galadriel, Gandalf's elf friend, and the narrator for this movie. She also helps Frodo along his journey by speaking to him through his mind. Galadriel is a MUCH better character here than her time in the Hobbit movies, because at least here, she is actually doing something, whereas in the Hobbit movies she is just making creepy faces and walking around most of the time. Plus, her acting is WAY better here. Hugo Weaving as Elrond, the head of the Elf Council, and friend to Frodo and his allies. Weaving does a very well-acted job as the character, and he shows some genuine care and shows belief in Frodo. Liv Tyler as Arwen, Aragorn's elf girlfriend, and Elrond's daughter is also another great character. She is portrayed so flawlessly by Tyler, and she even fights a few Orcs as she helps Frodo in a couple of this movie's scenes. Andy Serkis has a tiny return in this movie, cameoing in the movie's intro as Gollum, and while it's a cool little appearance, it's only getting us more ready for his brilliant performance in the next movie.

Christopher Lee also returns as Saruman The White, but now he is evil, and betrays Gandalf right in the beginning of this movie. And you could almost tell that was gonna happen, as when in Hobbit: Part III, when Gandalf is escaping his prison cage, we see Saruman and Sauron meet each other, most likely to team up together. But, what an AWESOME movie villain. Though Sauron is the main villain for this trilogy, he is the villain focus for this and the next movie. And, WOW! What a great performance Lee gives. He is so terrifying, and so powerful of a character. You can tell this guy means business the second he betrays Gandalf early in the movie.

WOW! What an amazing cast for us to get know for these next 3 movies. That is something Peter Jackson never had a flaw with while making those Middle Earth movies. Yes, the cast of characters is a bit large, but you get so invested in each character so well, due to the brilliant, flawless acting done by each actor/actress, and they do it so well that it becomes memorable to you as you watch the movie. Very rarely does a movie get a large cast like this to have EVERY character be likable and memorable, but all 6 films in this series did JUST THAT so well.

The music, once again done by Howard Shore IS FLAWLESS! He does an awesome job giving this movie it's iconic trilogy theme we always hear, and he gives us some great fantasy-esque music, that helps fit the movie's tone very well. Basically, this guy knows how to score epic, grand, fantasy movies. The trilogy's main theme "One Ring To Rule Them All," is such a epic, and grand sounding theme, and Shore composes this song so well, it's almost like he makes you feel the powerful and emotional tone these next 3 movies are going to take you on (something he did perfectly with the Hobbit trilogy.). Also, the movie's end credits song "May It Be," played during the last 45 minutes of the movie, and the movie's main theme song is SUCH A BEAUTIFUL SONG! What an amazing, moving song, with great vocals by Enya.

The directing, by Peter Jackson (The Hobbit: Part I: An Unexpected Journey, The Hobbit: Part II: The Desolation of Smaug, The Hobbit: Part III: The Battle of The Five Armies, The Lord of The Rings II: The Two Towers, The Lord of The Rings III: The Return of The King, King Kong (2005 Remake,), is, well, pretty good. I have to admit the first 30 minutes of the movie take way too long to get things started and exciting, and focused way too much for those first 30 minutes alot on some awkward close up shots, but, it's not something to make me hate the movie. A similar problem that The Hobbit: Part I: An Unexpected Journey suffered, but luckily, where that movie suffered horrible pace, this movie actually knows how start itself and end, with a VERY well balanced pace, and a great story to keep you interested for the other 2 approaching sequels. Which the Hobbit: Part I did do well, but I'm sorry, Part I of THAT movie had a very slow pace, and almost got lost in itself. Anyway, as for THIS movie, all the actors have such perfectly cast roles, with flawless performances for each character, especially from Elijah Wood and Sean Astin. Also, this movie has some GREAT action scenes, surprising, unexpected twists(some so unexpected that it makes you cry of deep sadness, due to th fact that you got deeply invested into all of these characters, and WONDERFUL visuals. Something Jackson knows how to bring well to the big screen. There are so many great, stunning camera angles, and amazingly shot areas and locations this movie takes you, and some of the statues, mountains, kingdoms, etc that you see are brought to the screen so well for a movie made at the time when movies were just starting to master CGI. Also, we get a great, well-written character in the role of Frodo Baggins, who is played so well by Elijah Wood, and his character goes through such a personal, and epic journey. This movie kept me on the edge of my seat. And if you haven't seen it yet, THEN WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? Go watch it NOW! IT IS DEFINITELY A MUST SEE! And if you started with watching the first 3 Hobbit movies like I did, this movie points out so many cool, nostalgic little references to that amazing prequel trilogy, and kinda helps keep you focused more with the story that these 6 movies tell. Anyway, as for this movie, I am giving it a 9.5 out of 10.