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REVIEW: Lord of the Rings | by Illiad | 2006-11-19 12:55:59 |
| Nits |
by Horseman |
2002-01-02 09:52:16 |
Loved the movie, especially the cinematography. New Zealand is where I want to retire.
I have worn out six copies of LoTR, and was given the leatherbound edition for Christmas. My wife has no clue
about the story. She loved the storyline (and was able to summarize it in three sentences!) and hated the movie.
Her comments, "BOOOOORING!" and "A great story told poorly". The scenes are way too long, and many scenes that take several minutes (like the demise of Boromir) should have been done in seconds. On the other hand, the chase, the Riders against Arwen, was badly mishandled. The opening shot where she is flying down the road is excellent, and how a horse chase should be shot. But then when the Riders showed up (and that specific sequence was good) the scene degenerates into a series of choppy in-and-outs where you get absolutely no sense of speed, just chaos.
The fight scene on Weathertop is OK, but the reason for Frodo's getting stabbed is murky to a non-fan. And the film made no reference to the reason for the stabbing. They didn't want him dead, and he was not in danger of dying. They wanted him to become a wraith so they could control him. It was not clear that there was a piece of that magic knife in Frodo's shoulder. Aragorn/Strider merely mentions that they needed to get him to Rivendell before the poison could spread.
The death of Boromir is, in the book, the end of a fight that is not seen by the reader. Here, the badass Uruk
shoots him slowly (and notice those arrows are suitable for elephant hunting) three times, and each time, Boromir gets up and takes out three or four more Uruks. This is a particularly heroic scene that becomes unfortunately comical the way it is filmed.
I hated the fight around Bali's tomb in Moria, especially the troll. It went on and on and on... The Balrog was extraordinary, amazing, scary, everything that a demon from the ancient past should be.
If I see one more extended soft-light closeup of Frodo's face I'll puke. The effects that make the hobbits real are amazing, but I have a growing dislike for the young man who is Frodo. He is a good actor, but I hate his face. Bilbo was the most real of all the hobbits. The scene where Sam almost drowned lasted at least three minutes too long...
I appreciate the other views here, since I was unhappy with Galadriel, and was unable to say why. Here character should have been more tempered than brittle. Also, Gimli's reaction to her was crucial to later episodes in the story and is completely left out.
I miss Tom.
The recreation of Isildur's role in all of this was excellent, and added to the scope of the epic telling of the stroy.
The whole movie could have taken less than two hours and still had time for some of the stuff that was left out.
Incidentally, my wife and I are "older", such that JRR Tolkien died after I was born..., we are not fans of the MTV style of cinema, but this one dragged. The visuals are stunning, the characterizations are weak, and sometimes just "off", and in general, the computer generated graphics (no abbreviations here by golly) are very good, with a few minor exceptions, and motivations or justifications for actions are spotty at best. I would like to go back and see it again, since I was still reeling from the exit from the Shire as the Fellowship approached Moria...
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