[review] obligatory-LOTR

[jodawi]

Lord of the Rings impressions:
- Pretty good overall
- Seemed too rushed; never got to know any but a few characters since i read the books 10 or 15 years ago and have forgotten much; i'm hoping for a new 9-movie edition in 20 years or somesuch.
- Was annoyed by a bright halogen-like movie light behind a rearing nazgul - there was nothing to justify that bright of a light in the forest, so it just looked like a melodramatic movie effect
- Didn't like that Gollum found the ring already as the Gollum creature rather than as a man that would be twisted by the ring. They saved 15 seconds of explanation and lost a strong reinforcement of the nature of the ring.
- Much of the places they visit seemed too small and undeveloped or something - i think part of the problem is that i had no critical filter way long ago when i read the books and quite an imagination, so i have an idealized superrealm in my head that maybe no images could really match. More of a mental image of Middle Earth than a physical one. Seeing actual landscapes and things made it more mundane.
- Frodo, Bilbo, Gandalf, and maybe Strider and Sam seemed like convincing characters to me. The elves mostly did not.
- First half seemed more emotionally moving than the second half, but maybe knowing what happens in the second book helps with that.
- Standard irk about it being an adventure story for white males and other such difficulties, but so it goes.
- Misc la la la etc. I generally can only verbalize what i don't like about something because i'm a dark cretin so that's all for my list.

Comments

[girlgrowingold.livejournal.com]

You said: "Was annoyed by a bright halogen-like movie light behind a rearing nazgul - there was nothing to justify that bright of a light in the forest, so it just looked like a melodramatic movie effect"


You know, that is really going to bother me now when I go and watch the movie again. I never noiticed that before...I've heard teh same criticisms with the moive from everyone who has read the books when they were younger. (and thus really big fans of the books)
By the way-- Thank you. :)