Born of Hope - A LotR Fan Film

Last year I watched an excellent Lord of the Rings fan film called 'The Hunt For Gollum'. The production values were fantastic and it was hard to believe that the whole thing had been created for no money - just people's time, energy and passion.

Now there's another one out - Born of Hope.

You can only see the full movie at the website (click on the banner above the trailer to get to it) but the trailer here gives you a decent taster.

I really enjoyed it. In fact, as far as fan films are concerned I'd say it was brilliant. The screenplay felt a bit clunky - in a bid to make the dialogue sound oldy-worldy-esque it didn't really flow and there wasn't much conviction in the delivery, as if the actors didn't really believe what it was they were saying. That said, the performances were all very good, especially the portrayal of Arathorn. The action sequences were very good with very few 'that looked stupid' moments, the troll attack was very well done, and the makeup was superb.

It'd be easy to dismiss the film for it's lack of polish but this was done on a budget that equalled pretty much nothing as far as a movie of this quality is concerned - you're looking at maybe £25K - much like the previous film, and you have to give them a standing ovation for that devotion.

Well done all round, I reckon. Do you know what I'd do next, if I were them? I'd leave Middle-Earth and make someting completely original, in a new world and in a design of their own making. That'd be a challenge and a half.

I'd be up for it. Let's do lunch.