A Wonderful Follow Up To The First Movie

Rating: 10/10 (20 December 2013)

I read these stories when I was in High School in the 80's, and they weren't new at that time. The movies followed some 20 to 30 years after that. I have been immensely entertained by all of them, and think that it is a testimony to Tolkien's stories that such movies could be made and be so successful on all levels, financially, popularity etc. The books are books, the movies are movies, true fans I imagine had images in their minds what Bag End and all the rest of Middle Earth must look like, and that is the wonder of the truly fantastic stories. And I have to confess, the first time the scene rolled up of the path leading to Bag End in the Fellowship of the Ring, my eyes softened and my breath was taken. Wow, absolutely beautiful and amazing. Was it exactly like the images I formed in the 80's, well no, but it certainly wasn't a mediocre effort and it was truly wonderful. Movies don't follow books, there simply isn't enough screen time, and they do cost a substantial amount of money and work to bring to the screen. There success has proved it was worth the investment, and the creators are to congratulated for bringing them to us. For all who can do nothing but complain about what you see in the movie, no one is stopping you from doing it the way you think it should be done, but to complain as you do is an insult to the rest of us who are thrilled to have lived to see the stories come to the screen at all. Your loathing of the movie and your ridicule suggest that you didn't go to enjoy a movie, but to nitpick at everything about it that deviated from the book and suggest that if we left the movie having had a terrific time watching it that we couldn't possibly be fans of the books is a sad event. I went, I enjoyed it immensely, and my books still have a prominent place on my bookshelf in my bedroom. If you think that you can do better, go for it, fans will go see it, and if you stick to the books more closely then you can be at peace. Good luck with your financing and all, it is, after all, designed to provide entertainment and make money, and you'll need more than a movie admission to bring your version to us on the big screen. Sure, I would have liked to see Tom Bombadil in FOTR, and others things that didn't make it in to the various movies, and I am sure that all of this was thought out very carefully, and that those in charge did the best they could to satisfy all the requirements of the project, and I am delighted that it happened at all. Can't wait for the conclusion.