'Tolkien' - Movie Review

If you're thinking of heading out to see Tolkien this weekend, then you are in for the time of your life. In the age of superheroes and rom-coms, we've lost sight of the epic adventure and fantasy of works like Tolkien's.

Watching The Lord of the Ringsseries come to life in the mind of Nicholas Hoult's, Tolkien is truly a once-in-a-lifetime performance. And Lily Collins' turn as his wife is memorable in its own right, for there is little previously known about Edith Tolkien. Even though she is credited with inspiring most of his female characters, as well as being his muse (read as "forcing him to face his fears") for his writings throughout his life.

Viewers get a rare glimpse into the life of a genius, as we watch Tolkien from his young childhood, through his formative years, and into his adult life as a professor and writer.

Seeing Tolkien's life unfold before you, you can't help but notice the mirrors between his life and his works—mostly because director, Dome Karukoski, thrusts them right in your face.

Suddenly, the fierceness of the female characters in his stories is understandable upon meeting the outspoken and free-spirited Edith when Tolkien was a young orphan. The unbreakable bond between the hobbits throughout their journey becomes reminiscent of Tolkien's bond with his schoolmates. But the ultimate mirror of Tolkien's life is the hard-fought battles he faced throughout his life, much like the journeys of his characters.

However, Tolkien himself was always adamant that biographies of authors cause correlation—not the other way around—and that his stories weren't about his life. They were obviously complete fantasy!

There were no hobbits running around, or dragons breathing fire, or magical rings controlling him. There was simply him, Edith, his friends, and the tragedy of World War I.

After an early release of the film, super fan Stephen Colbert got to talk to stars, Hoult and Collins, as well as the director about the film and what it was like making such a film—especially one that the author himself probably wouldn't have approved of.

But there's one thing you may notice is different than you'd expect, and don't worry, you're not the only one.

Pretty much the entire world has been pronouncing his name wrong for years! And once you realize it, you'll be driving yourself crazy trying to get it right.

Nonetheless, the film is amazingly well done and anyone who has even the slightest interest in the series will be pleased with the way fantasy and reality are interwoven into Tolkien's life.

Tolkien is a rarity in today's cinematic landscape, but it is one that will go down in history beside Titanic and other truth-based movies. While there are obviously some liberties taken since, as previously mentioned, Tolkien didn't like comparing his life to his works and would often try to completely disassociate the two, the overall story is based on research done by the cast and crew. From reading letters Tolkien wrote to Edith, to meeting with Tolkien experts, to reading biographies of the Tolkien family, everyone on the cast put in a lot of effort for their characters.

Hoult even tried his hand at painting, much the way Tolkien would when writing out his stories. While working on X-Men, Hoult was painting Tolkien's works in preparation for the role. Now that's dedication!

When tested, however, the two stars don't really know a lot about the books, but they do understand the dedication of fans and how important Tolkien and his works are to the world.

Overall, for both dedication and the amazing movie that ultimately came from it, Tolkien gets a 10 out of 10 from this reviewer.

If you enjoy the movie as much as I did and want to know more about your two new favorite actors, watch them try to answer Google search questions about themselves. You'll fall even more in love with them both.