Tolkien is a biographical drama film directed by Finnish director Dome Karukoski about the early life of J. R. R. Tolkien. The film explores the early years of Tolkien – his youth and adolescence, his time at Oxford, and his experiences in WWI – all of which foreshadow his career as an acclaimed writer of the fantasy genre.
Good points:
- The young ‘fellowship’ of Tolkien’s school friends and his romance with Edith Bratt is a story that is told very well – there is some good character development in these relationships, with good humour and camaraderie.
- The development of Tolkien’s love of philology and fantasy stories is explored in detail with care and attention.
- The WWI scenes at the Somme are masterful, visceral, and horrifying imagery.
- Fantastic cinematography, music and visual effects.
- The acting and direction overall are decent. Nicholas Hoult and Lily Collins deliver fine performances, with good chemistry.
Bad points:
- Nothing really ‘stands out’ in the film – this is still a pretty standard, generic biopic.
- The links to his foreshadowing masterworks, such as The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion are negligible. This was what I was most interested in and wanted to see – but this film hits the bare minimum in terms of telling this story.
- There isn’t much in this film that most Tolkien fans wouldn’t know already – most of the story in this film can be found elsewhere in books and online.
- Some of the supporting characters (such as his school mates) could’ve had some more character development.
Final verdict: 6 out of 10 Rings of Power. Good, but nothing special or amazing. But hey – it’s better than any of the Hobbit movies!
Andrew Reviews 