Elves, hobbits, orcs, half-elves, sea monsters, nasty individuals with glowing eyes, a demon made of fireworks... The capacity audience sat in stunned silence throughout the 3-hour running time of Peter Jackson's interpretation of 'Lord of the Rings'.

This could've been due to the amount of violence, plot twists, characters and the actual length of the film, all of which would've qualified this film for a sterner rating than "PG". That aside, the film is an exquisite piece of work which, for anyone over 10, should mesmerise.

Frodo, a young Hobbit, is given a ring for safe keeping by Gandalf (played by Ian McKellen) which has been forged by the Dark Lord Sauron. The ring must be destroyed in order to save the world (Middle Earth, in this case), but it can only be destroyed in the place where it was forged: Mordor. So begins a quest in which Frodo, and the 'Fellowship of the Ring', must battle all manner of dangerous creatures, half-built staircase leaps, snowstorms and orcs.

What distinguishes this film from the likes of 'Harry Potter...' is the set-pieces, including the wonderful scene in the underground caves. When the characters emerged and started getting their breath back, I breathed a sigh of relief.

Being an action film, there is not a great deal of acting to comment on, but the characters are more than adequately realised by a stellar group of actors and actresses including Ian Holm, Ian McKellen, Elijah Wood (Frodo) and Cate Blanchett.

Peter Jackson might have suggested that his film was flawless (or maybe that was his overzealous PR agency...?), but the point is well made - it is really rather good. Once might be enough, but if you really want to take everything in, viewing this film at least twice would be recommended.

So at the end of this first episode of the trilogy, we are left with most of the story yet to be recounted and we have to wait a whole year for the next part. The next two parts of the trilogy will be eagerly awaited.

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