THE dramatisation of a novel as rich in content as JRR Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings is always going to be a challenge.

Moulding a text whose merit lies in its complexities into a film, the length of which is set, is a task which would test even the greatest of movie makers.

Tolkien-ites will snarl at the faintest deviation from the text and thrill seekers are too impatient to follow the slow map of movement Tolkien draws for Frodo in his quest to return an all-powerful ring crafted by a dark lord to where it was forged — deep in the darkest depths of Mordor, home of all evil.

Peter Jackson’s decision to make three films rather than one was an excellent decision. It was a tad frustrating to be left “in the lurch” at the end of this first instalment, but this is a small price to pay.

We are taken from The Shire to the home of Elrond the Elven King, through forests, mines and battlefields to the edge of Mordor.

And it is there you are left.

Frodo and fellow Hobbit Sam are to continue the rest of the journey alone, leaving behind their trusty pals, the dwarf, Strider the Ranger, the elf bowman, two other Hobbits, Gandalf the Wizard and Boromir the man (played by Sean Bean).

Instalment number two, The Two Towers, is conveniently set to hit the big screen in time for the Christmas holidays.

Vikki Harrington