The movie “Tolkien” is about the famous writer J.R.R Tolkien who in 1937 wrote the book, “The Hobbit”, followed by “Lord of the Rings” that resulted in high grossing movies, directed by Peter Jackson many years after Tolkien’s death in 1973. Tolkien is played well by actor Nicholas Hoult.

This movie is about Tolkien’s childhood friendships with 3 other men, their horrendous experiences in World War I and Tolkien’s relationship with his eventual wife Edith Bratt, played very well by Lily Collins. The problem with this film is the story and how it is told with flashbacks, that for me created an experience that flowed more like a series of events than a well told story.

The overall quality of Tolkien is high, including the grim World War I scenes that were out of necessity very well done to honor the men who died. However because of how the story was told with the disjointed use of constant flashbacks, I can only give this movie a very mild recommendation.