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THE Lord of the Rings had unmeasurable success in both novel and film format, attracting a devoted following that could give the Trekkies a run for their money.

J R Tolkien et al were doing so well. So why get greedy by throwing a wad of cash (£12.5 million to be exact) into special effects, expecting a theatre extravaganza to manifest from the money?

At just over three hours in length, this is a production to prepare yourself for. Which may explain why there were plenty of empty seats at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane on the prime Friday night I joined the Fellowship.

You can't fault the set. A tangled mesh of winding branches spans floor to ceiling, and the constantly morphing and moving stage certainly makes for a fast-paced fairytale.

It is fast because it needs to be, there is a trilogy of events to cover, don't forget, but the speed of Rings has left it soulless, and notably lacking the emotion and intensity of the blockbuster movies.

The unbreakable bond between the Hobbits as they embark on their collective quest to save Middle Earth, for example, or the gentle giant-ness of Gandalf (played by Malcolm Storry) was touched on, but those new to the tale could blink and miss these core themes.

I wanted more from James Loye's Frodo. Granted his key role was somewhat cut due to the production's tight schedule, but I was disappointed that his solo moments lacked the high emotional standards created by his cinema counterpart, Elijah Wood, who managed to perfectly portray Frodo's battle between morality and greed.

The spectacular visuals make sure the audience knows the goodies from the baddies, however. The eerie Black Riders appear under the cover of thick smoke, mounted on the backs of huge skeletal horses, and elfin angels Arwen (Rosalie Craig) and Galadriel (Laura Michelle Kelly) burst into bewitching folk song, thus adding a sprinkling of mythical magic with every sweet note.

Here, the child-like delusion works, but when it appears as part of a long line of jibberish, an adult audience can't help but search for the method behind the madness.

For me, The Lord of the Rings is a pointless stage production. It just didn't need to be done.

The special effects are second to none, and you cannot fail to be impressed by Hobbits disappearing into thin air, Orcs flipping across the stage on stilts, and a quite colossal spider requiring a whole team of dancers to manoeuvre its brilliantly-bendy legs. But after three hours in the chair, the snazziness of this show wears thin.

It was always going to be a tall order to create a theatre production to come anywhere close to this cult trilogy. £12.5 million later, I'm sure I'm not the only one left wondering why they bothered.

The Lord of The Rings is currently taking bookings at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane until March 2008. For tickets and information, call the box office on 0870 890 6002.

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