Lord of the Rings--My thoughts

[Ambush_Bug]

Yar, I went and saw it last night... well worth the money and time.

First things first... take a bathroom break before you go in. At three hours, if you've got anything to drink, you'll have leave the theater unless you have a bladder of steel.

Cons:

Battle Scene Camera Work: The cuts were, IMO, too fast. You still got to see what all was going on, but it could have used a few pull-backs in some of the battles just to rest your eyes.

Lack of 'Time': You don't get the sense of the huge amounts of time the Company spent crossing the wilderness--it seems a little rushed in places. It still works, mind you, but I woulda preferred a little more slow-down there.

Dialog: There were places where they put in the original dialog, and yet it seemed rushed. This is, I'm pretty sure, because they had to cut two hours off the film to make it fit. No big deal, as you get the point and it works.

Pros:

Casting: PERFECT. I mean that. Ian M. IS Gandalf. I had my own visions of how Gandalf would look and behave, and he just captured them perfectly. There's going to be buttloads of Oscars for this movie. The Hobbits were well-done (though Sam needs more lines), Aragorn is just great, Legolas is marvellous, and Gimli... ahhh, Gimli was cool. Boromir was done to a T. At no time did a get a sense of 'These are actors, and this is a movie."

Plot Adjustments: I know things had to be rearranged in order to fit into a movie, and this was done very well. There are parts missing, and things shifted around, but you can tell that, even without reading the books, anyone will still be able to get hold of what's actually going on.

Mines of Moria: Though there's some plot-tweaking here concerning just who knew about Balin's plight, the Mines were, IMO, the best section of the entire movie. Cave troll? BAD-ASS! The drums? Better than I imagined them. The scenery? Just awesome.. you really got a sense of the whole place being carved out by Dwarves.

The Balrog.... O. M. G. This was the one part of the movie Jackson couldn't afford to screw up at ALL, and he didn't. He totally captured the sense of how powerful it is, how it looks, and how it fought with Gandalf. I can't spoil how the scene actually works, but I will say that when the Balrog came onto the scene, everyone in the theatre shut up. You could tell that everyone was actually frightened of it.. which was just what needed to happen. I haven't seen such a well-done movie monster in years.. and this guy only got at most eight minutes of screen time. Hands down one of the best scenes in the film.

Saruman: Without spoiling anything, I will say that Saruman is no longer told about by Gandalf at the Council... you see what happened. You see the tension working up, you see how his mind is working, and you begin to understand, even before its shown, that his aims are not those of the Council.

Sauron: Christ, I know he's a movie bad-guy, and even so, I still pause before I speak his name aloud. Jackson did a great job showing just what the Ring would let him do--there was always an ambiguity in the LotR books about what the Ring actually did for him. Now at last we see some of the power the One Ring gave him.

Arwen: Though some have bitched, and bitched hard about Liv Tyler's role in the movie, this was a good thing. By giving a lot of 'one-shot' roles to Arwen, Jackson keeps the character confusion down to a dull roar. And she's purty, too.

Overall, I'm really impressed. I'm hopefully gonna be taking the familiy to see it tomorrow or the next day. I have some family members that have read the books, and some that have not, so it will be interesting.

[Ambush_Bug]

BTW, for those of you that see and aren't happy that some scenes and locations got butchered (Lothlorien is the prime offender here), wait for the Director's Cut DVD to come out. I've been hearing that the DVD will have some two hours of extra footage.

Damn.. that Balrog was bad-ass!

[Ghryphen]

We saw it last night as well. I have never read the books, and have only seen the cartoon movies, that I can on partially recall from many years ago, but the movie was soo awesome. I did not know that the ending would not be the ending, I thought that it would be similar to the Star Wars where each episode had somewhat of an ending, I can't wait a year to see more! GAH! That is cruelty. The movie was great! My secretary saw the movie and never saw or read and of the story previously and she was not impressed, she said it was too long and all they did was travel. I disagree, I felt the movie was pretty active through to the end. Can't wait for more, I feel like a druggy now, gettin the shakes

[Maz]

I'm I the only who still has'nt seen the movie, and yes I will go, but after x-mas

[Aluscia]

Well, AB... I agree with you, for the most part. Moria was *DA BOMB*, and the Balrog gave me shivers. I'm not going to list what I thought was good/bad, but rather just reflect.

First off, the elimination of some key plot (For example, Barliman *forgetting* that Gandalf had given him a letter for Frodo, or the fact that Narsil (the sword that was broken) was *REFORGED* before Aragorn left Rivendell, or the fact that Galadriel held one of the elven rings) made the movie a movie, and not the book at all. And because they were eliminated, some things didn't make sense. (For example, why would the hobbits follow someone a respectable inn keeper had told them to stay away from, as well as the fact that he looked dark, and was a human (hobbits all share a little distrust of humans)) There was a lot of travelling around, indeed, and because of the elimination of key suspense moments from the script, it seemed rushed. Also, the twisting of Arwen's character into a warrior maiden left much to be desired, as it totally changes what will come to pass later... I only hope they haven't eliminated all of the minor characters because of it. (Yes, because of Arwen's twist, they eliminated a few elf lords, etc). And what happened to the gift giving scene with Galadriel and Celeborn in Lothlorien? It *totally* develops Gimli's character, and reveals that the solid dwarf can be soft, and appreciate beauty. It also helped vindicate Boromir a little more, as he realises that the witch of Lothlorien is really a beautiful maiden, who is perilous, but just.

Don't get me wrong... The movie was an incredible movie that will gross big, blow every other DVD sale out of the water, and be a classic. The movie was not the book, however, and I feel that people should really read the books to capture the *true* masterpiece of the Lord of the Rings.

Just my two cents. Pick me apart, if you will, but just remember: I make it a ritual of re-reading Lord of the Rings every year. I was reciting half of the lines during the movie. I could name the characters who weren't introduced in the movie. I'm not bragging, but I know the book.

Merry Christmas to all.

[Stang]

EXCELLENT MOVIE!!!

I have never read any of the books just heard about them from BJ and watched the Hobbit.

I hate when movies make you cry . I loved all the characters they held their personalities very well. I agree with the fight seens they could have panned out and gave ya some shots of both fighting but they where still interesting.

Yeah go to the bathroom before, I didnt realize it until we left that I was drinkin alot , surprised I didnt have to leave to use the potty. And dont wear anything heavy, all those damn people breathing , how rude.

Cant wait for the next one to come out since they ended it they way they did, RUDE!!!

"NOBODY THROWS A DWARF!!!"

[Temujin]

Laurelin, while it wasn't said that Galadriel had one of the elven rings, I did notice that it alluded to it. At the beginning when it was giving the history of the ring, it showed the elves and Galadriel was one of them.

I loved the movie too, can't wait for the next two. Now I have to go read the books.

The effects were awesome. The blending of the hobbits and humans seemed so seamless, at times I forgot that everyone on the screen was human. I only noticed one part where stuff looked kinda fakey. It was in the mines when they were running through the dwarf city from the Balrog, the people looked a little fake. However I did notice that the hobbits did have to take more steps, so kudos to those graphics people.

[Ambush_Bug]

BTW, I just remembered a really subtle detail about the movie... if any of you go see it again (or for the first time), watch for this:

The One Ring does not bounce. EVER. It gets dropped a few times, and every time it lands flat.. .and every time, you hear a quiet 'thump' when it hits. Said 'thump' being the thump of some large book being set on a table just loud enough to make a noise.

Kinda creeped me out when it came to mind.

[Aluscia]

Yeah, and you actually *SAW* the ring change shape when it was supposed to. It was pretty cool. No one can poke holes in their special effects, that's for certain.

[XRogue]

Heh, I've seen it twice now. The more I look at the movie, the better I like it. The Arwen role is the only one that bugs me. If she show up again before the third movie, you'll know that noise you're hearing is me screaming in outrage.

Other than that, I would've appreciated a littl more character development for Legolas, Gimli and the younger hobbits. Had I not known Merry and Pippin from reading the books, I might have had some difficulty telling them apart. And Gimli and Legolas are supposed to hate each other and then become good friends by the end of Fellowship. Neither of those is portrayed strongly enough, IMHO.

Other than that, 18 years of waiting has paid off for me. Did anyone pay special attention to the wings on the Balrog? Thought they handled the ambiguity of that well. (In the books, it doesn't say he had wings and yet it sorta does.)

"There is one dwarf in Moria who still draws blood!"

"I am the servant of the Secret Fire, wielder of the Flame of Anor.
You shall not pass!"

[Gambit]

I still say it was "...dwarf in Moria who still draws breath!"

Seen it twice so far. Probably will once or twice more before it's through. And I can count on one hand the movies I've seen in the theater twice - and three times? Never.

We did see the Ring bouncing at the beginning, when it escaped Gollum. But then, it wanted to, didn't it?

A spot I thought was a nice touch was the Ring-rhyme being read in the background, while the council at Rivendell was in an uproar. "Ash nazg grimbatul" and all that. Frodo packing food while talking to Gandalf was kind of nice; you don't usually SEE movie characters packing for a journey.

Regarding the plot differences - I can handle Arwen as portrayed, as long as she doesn't try to fill Eowyn's shoes. After all, when did we see Glorfindel again? I can accept Aragorn's uncertainty as a movie plot device (though they should have mentioned Narsil's reforging). Wish they'd developed the characters a little better, since they all really came to Rivendell on their own errands. A better shot of Gloin (Gimli's father and one of the original companions of Bilbo) would have been a nice low-cost bonus. The Lothlorien gifting scene would have been very good, but the time requirements would have made the rest of it seem even more rushed. Tom Bombadil and the wights didn't really add much to the overall plot, so that cut's ok.

I didn't like the amount of screen time that Saruman got, but a movie needs a visible bad guy, so I guess I have to excuse it. I didn't like Elrond's apparent distaste for mankind - it didn't seem like that in the books. I agree with Rogue regarding the development of the relationship between Legolas and Gimli, but I suppose PJ thought there'd be room enough in #2 to put that. That is where it really comes to fruition anyway.

Some people were disappointed that Gandalf seemed vulnerable or indecisive, but I think it was done well. He certainly looked the part. Gandalf is one of the few who really understands what's going on, and he's supposed to be a protector of Middle-Earth. Seems like he's got an excuse to be worried and has no one to lean on. Also could be used to make the contrast more dramatic later.

Can't wait to see the ENTS!! Hooom, Hom.

Stang, the other movies will likely be more apt to make you cry than this one.

Balrog: b00ya!! 'nuff said.



"FLY, you fools!!" << one of my all-time favorite lines of literature.