Born of Hope (2009)

This is one of the most impressive fan-made movies I've ever seen - in fact, IT IS the best fan-made film I've ever seen... I'm deeply impressed. The story and acting drew me in quickly -- sure there is action but this is a tidy little story with very good acting. I quite like the costumes and sets/settings. The cinematography and directing really surprised me as well. No I did not expect to enjoy the film as well as I did... I'll watch this one again.

This should have been good. The costumes were there. The scenery was there. The people were there. The basis for the story was there to tell of a gap in the Hobbit world of elves, men, and other creatures.Everything was there but the originality in the script.This is as forced and predictable as one can imagine. It looks like it was written by people with serious issues and hatred, and it shows.Too bad, because a lot of people spent a lot of time and money on this. The atmosphere could have been there.What really suffers here is the lack of inspiration in the story. It looks so forced and so full of the usual Hollywood hate and propaganda that one can't help but be embarrassed for everyone involved.Three words that best describe this are as follows and I quote.Stink.Stank.Stunk.

First off, I doubted of this movie, essentially because of some posts in the website; This is obviously the work of a fan of the movies which I happen to dislike strongly. But the team behind this simple tale actually reached the spot with the theme and the feeling of a Middle Earth recreation.I believe strongly that the whole Tolkien universe is resumed in the very last words of the Quenta Silmarillion. And that is my reason to dislike the way the writers of the movie trilogy decided to finish the whole ordeal.As of Born of Hope itself. there are two lines that I thought had to be there, both of them are...the first one is between the parents of Gilraen and the second is in the very end, the difference between a good effort and an admirable work as they resume the whole experience.While the battle scenes I felt were not as good as the one in The Hunt for Gollum. They deliver correctly, and the characters got great pieces of dialog.Technically Born of Hope is flawless for what it is. But a technically efficient experience shall never be enough for a true LOTR project. Thankfully the people behind the film came up with an adequate script. I hope they find this review useful in future efforts.

Wow. This fan-made film was obviously made with love for the material and a passion that clearly shines through. There are many little details and moments that Tolkien fans will love (and made my heart soar once or twice). It's so nice to see that attention to the detail of Middle-earth's history. It is brilliant for the small budget that was available to the filmmakers, and it dovetails quite nicely with the Jackson movies. I must say that I enjoyed it even more than The Hunt for Gollum (which was also very good). This production had the benefit of not using characters established in the Jackson films, which makes everything much more believable in that universe. And it was much better than most of the drivel produced for television. Kudos to all involved in it! A real labor of love and a remarkable effort.