A Film in the True Spirit of the Book.

Rating: 10/10 (28 July 2015)

The big screen adaptation of Lord of the Rings, given the size of the books and Hollywood's need to fit films into a certain amount of reserve shall we say, but to my amazement they did a damn good job. Peter Jackson did an amazing job trying to balance to need to please everybody Those who live and breathe the books, and those who just want to see a good film, but have never read the books. Peter Jackson's decision to film all the three films in the trilogy at the same time I think was the first time anybody had done this. What would the results be? I mean it had to be better than the 70's cartoon version but to the extent it was surprised me completely.
I do wonder about some of the skipped scenes from the book, for example why Mary and Pippin joined without Sam and Frodo even batting an eyelid. There weren't best friends really before this trip. Also in the book Aragorn has to prove himself to Sam and Frodo, this isn't required in the film. But there are the only negatives.
I especially liked Elrond's council I thought it was done extremely well, I liked the way they used voice over work to explain some of the background with reduced the need for screen time and increased the dramatic tension. Further I think it was a stroke of genius increasing Arwen's role and helps the viewers to understand more about the relationship she has with Aragorn. I also liked to romance between Aragon and Arwen.
In the book Tolken failed to explain fully this relationship which in the 3rd part of the trilogy affected the impact the characters had. I have to say and did say earlier the balance between fanatic and casual fan was perfect. Nobody argues you have to adjust scenes shorten, move around, generally increase the dramatic tension, its just not possible to take the story directly from the book word for word Its a film in the true spirit of the book.
Excellent.