Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.

A Brilliant Conflict

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

When this awful "thing" finished I said to myself: "Oh, God of Talkien, what nonsense I saw and I spent my time to". Please, make a favor to yourselves, don't even think of watching it. The essence of the films of Peter Jackson is for keeping it pure and in your mind. I prefer to have this essence than spending time and my precious nervous system to a farce. I have never seen - thanks God - such a unbelievable tragic way of ...acting (can I use this verb for this?), for walking, for talking, for the... unexpected nose of "Arwen" even! What an Arwen! This poor girl should have first operation to her curve - not nose, it's a curve - falling down and then to think playing a role of a poor girl on the streets (NOT ARWEN, for God's sake!) Make a favor to your night. Do NOT throw your time in garbages like this.

A team of Tolkein fans, with an estimated budget of $3,000, have produced their own addition to Peter Jackson's film series. For such a small budget, it's impressive how close they come at times to reproducing Jackson's big-budget style.The movie takes its inspiration from one of the many appendices to the original novel, events that are hinted at in the first movie. The wizard Gandalf goes to Aragorn with a crucial mission: find Gollum, who knows the location of the One Ring, before Sauron's forces do. Success will allow for more time to plan, failure will result in a forced hand for our heroes, requiring that the ring be moved, with Frodo and the others put in imminent peril. Those who have seen Jackson's Fellowship of the Ring will know how this movie ends, but then that manages to add some more tense elements to the story. If you had some favorite technical element from the movie trilogy, writer/director/producer Chris Bouchard has likely re-created it here on a fraction of the budget. No less than a half- dozen cinematographers were used to evoke the atmosphere and rich, somber colors that helped distinguish the first movie. The score by Adam Langston and Andrew Skrabutenas is less conspicuous and "epic" than the Oscar-winning strings of Howard Shore, but that's perhaps fitting for this small, more personal movie. Gollum is envisioned with creativity, the filmmakers confining him to a burlap sack for most of the movie, yet whoever plays him in the sack, combined with Gareth's Borough's keen impression of Andy Serkis, are a worthy low-budget substitute for Jackson's extensive motion-capture. The appearance of a full-CGI Gollum addressing the camera at the very end was sufficient payoff for me. The acting styles of Adrian Webster and Patrick O'Connor as Aragorn and Gandalf are both quite interesting, surely both were cast in part for their resemblances to Viggo Mortensen and Ian McKellen respectively. Still, seeing them in their roles on the big screen is not a great stretch of the imagination. Fight choreography was one of the movie's strongest points, Bouchard has a very good eye not only for cat-and-mouse suspense, but complex sword fights. Too often with fan films, (or action/fantasy in general), fight scenes are handled poorly, leading to audience boredom. Far from it here, where the action drew me in a surprising amount. Bouchard and company have created something most impressive, and with a running time of 40 minutes and a price tag of $0, there's really no excuse to not see it. I can only hope that the people behind this movie will have their hard work here recognized, and maybe next time they'll make a movie they can actually profit from. This is likely the best fan film I've seen since Grayson in 2004.

This movie must be recommended to every Tolkien fan out there. But even people who don't consider themselves to be fans can be entertained for 40 minutes by this movie. Although it is said that the budget amounts to 3.000 pounds this film does not actually look like a low-budget flick. The work and preparation behind this movie (a "behind the scenes" is available somewhere) look almost professional. The dedication of the team absolutely outweighs a big budget. Some shots of the landscape are quite amazing because they seem like original film locations (yet, I think they're not, of course). The CGI looks quite good, too. All in all this little fan made piece of Tolkien's world impressed me deeply. These guys should really think about producing something from the Silmarillion. ;)

First off, I'm not a die hard LOTR fan. I enjoyed the trilogy and consider them a notch above most Fantasy films out there. I was surprised by all the positive reviews here about this little "Fan Film" online. I guessed they were all coming from the LOTR geeks out there who invade the web with positive reviews for anything with the word Gollum in it. In the first 30 seconds of watching this film I was instantly transported back to Peter Jackson's Middle Earth, I was shocked. In fact, I was so shocked that I couldn't really enjoy it the first time through because I was too confused by the quality of this film in all its aspects. The acting is great, the cast is great, the cinematography is great, the fight scenes are some of the best in the entire LOTR series, the pacing and attention to detail are at a level that has been lacking in Hollywood for some time. I've now watched this film 3 times and it seems to be getting better with each viewing. My only gripe with "The Hunt for Gollum" is that it ended so soon. I could have very well sat for another 2 hours watching this skilled director spin his web. Forget about Guillermo del Toro, hand "The Hobbit" over to Chris Bouchard. He is the only director out there who has proved himself worthy of the task.