penguin_nipple's Journal: Saw LOTR tonight

Finally got a chance to check out LOTR tonight. Although I am somewhat biased since I have read the book so many times, I thought it was well done. Here are my gripes tho:

• Elrond is not nearly as anal, in my opinion, as Peter Jackson made him out to be.
• Arwen flooding the River Bree while fleeing from Ringwraiths? hrummph
• Sam Gamgee is made out to be somewhat simple, but Merry and Pippen were well done, so that's even
• Saruman was made out to be simply evil, not nearly as pragmatic as the character really is in the book. IMHO, Saruman wanted to control the Ring, play for both teams as it were. That doesn't come across at all in the movie. Although, Michelle pointed one thing out to me, that never occured to me during the movie. Saruman, maintains his white robes throughout, which might seem minor, but he is no longer Saruman of Many Colors, right? She explained to me that the implication was that he was playing both sides, just making a bad judgement call in attempting to take control back later on. hmmm...that is interesting.
• No Tom Bombadil, oh well, although it is small plot point, I believe it is a large statement for the book. To me, it is all about TB being possibly more powerful than the power of the Rings, and he is wiser and non-affected, yet aloof to the world outside his realm. He does speak alot to me about arrogance and being aloof to things...

All in all, I was highly impressed with Peter Jackson's interpretation of the book. There is just so much there, that condensing it into a hollywood flick is simply impossible. But for once, thank god, fantasy has not been simplified down to the level of a 3 year old. The elves are elvish without being panzies running around in stockings, as most films depict elves.

Special effects, battle scenes...well...sweet...

I usually look for points in a movie where in a few years I'll look back and *sigh* at the cheesie special effects. Only found one bad looking scene. When the Fellowship are running from the demon in Moria, they turn a corner and there are flames behind them. Looks really cheesie. But one 15 second scene in 3 hours is damn fine :)

Had to say, all in all ...loved it...well, time for some Tribes 2 and bed...