LOTR: The Video Game

Rating: 5/10 (5 January 2002)

I really don't understand the hype and attention surrounding this film. It basically plays out like a video game version of the book. Are people so bereft of imagination that they have to see it up on a screen in order to really enjoy it?
As an avid reader, I occasionally run across a book that makes me think "gosh, this would really make a great movie." In fact, after reading Stephen King's "Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption" years before it was made into a film, I thought about that -- and the rest is history.
Many have commented that LOTR is one of those stories that just don't translate well to the big screen, so what's the point? And in my opinion, it honestly didn't translate well to the screen. The story feels rushed, the action sequences feel like a video game and unless someone has read the books, it's impossible to care about the fates of any of the characters. No matter what people say, this film is primarily by fans, for fans -- and that isn't a formula that translates into any kind of quality.
What has happened to people? How could this passable yet ultimately mediocre screen translation have made it to #1 on the IMDB? I suspect it's because people are really wanting a continuation of the saga of Middle Earth, which I understand... being a big fan of LeGuin's "Earthsea" trilogy, I wanted more books featuring Ged's adventures among the islands too (the fourth book was almost a "sellout"). But I wouldn't want to see the Earthsea trilogy butchered like "FOTR" through translation to a format that's totally unsuitable. LOTR might have made a great, high-budget miniseries, but condensing each book into ~3 hours is just flat-out impossible, it's butchery. Murder by camera lens.
I'm sure the video game (coming soon, no doubt) will sell millions of copies, because apparently that's what people want... an escape into imagination and fantasy, and for some reason this particular story is "it" to many people. There's nothing wrong with that, but why aren't the books good enough? You have to have Tolkien's subtlety browbeaten into you with "The Mummy" style CGI and sound effects, too?
10/10 for the book series, 5/10 for the movie (great visuals, poor everything else).